Everything's Just Wonderful
by There'sALeekInTheBoat
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi's life was good. If you take out the fact that all of his pets somehow decided that slowly ruining his life as animals was not enough. Oh no, they all had to level up into men. Extremely handsome men at that. But aside from that everything's just…peachy. All27 (sorta); Main pairing ?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ello, don't mind me, just jumping on the pets turn into people trope inspired by Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You. Take note that it's inspired, I tried not to touch upon anything that the actual game did but if they do happen to coincide, they're completely coincidental. And in other words, go play that game. It has beautiful art with cute routes and interesting voice actors. I butchered this fandom with this writing. But you know what? Don't matter, I tried and am still trying so please bear with me and correct me when necessary my dear audience and senpais.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR **

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><p><strong>Everything's Just Wonderful <strong>

_Sawada Tsunayoshi__'__s life was good. If you take out the fact that all of his pets somehow decided that slowly ruining his life as animals was not enough. Oh no, they all had to level up into men. Extremely handsome men at that. But aside from that everything__'__s just__…__peachy. All27; Main pairing = ?_

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><p>It was at the tender age of eighteen (is the entrance into manhood not sacred anymore?) that God had decided that he hated Sawada Tsunayoshi.<p>

Oh wait. Hold up.

It's not anything bad mind you, it's just that at this age there were actually good things coming Tsuna's way. Poor kid should have known his luck wouldn't have lasted. He'd gotten into college with mild, passing grades. He was an emancipated minor (or he liked to think that way). And he was working in a part-time job at the local animal shelter with a great boss and decent pay. Although in hindsight, animal shelters was probably not the best idea.

He was deathly afraid of chihuahuas and wouldn't touch them, and honestly, he tended to jump and cringe at nearly every single noise. He was incredibly timid and soft-spoken and clumsy to boot. But seeing as he was such a sincere child and well…for some inexplicable reason animals actually seemed to like him, he was given the job despite these contradicting qualities.

At the moment he was in college in hopes of becoming a teacher. He liked working with kids…not in that way you perverts! God, what kind of person did you think this idiot was? Emphasis on idiot which stands for stupid-and-super-kawaii-and-so-dense-that-it-puts-planets-to-shame. He somewhat leaned towards the younger bloc, as not only small animals, but whiny brats loved him as well. Actually, he got along with kids and angsty teens in general but that's not that point and…we're getting a little sidetracked here.

Ahem. Anyways, you see, Tsuna-chan was a pushover. One could call it as being generous and sickeningly kind-hearted, but it's only truthful to say it's a mixture of both sweetheart-like and weak. There were several animals who were so unmanageable at the animal shelter that no one seemed to want them. They popped in every now and then, just un-adoptable and alone. No kid would want a cat that hissed at everyone, no one wanted a rabbit that bit so hard that it actually hung off your finger, no one would want a dog so loud and obnoxious. So they were left behind.

And Tsuna, being young and stupid and young, took them in when they were placed on the roster for well…to be put down.

Kyoko, his boss, would always tell him, "Are you sure Tsuna-chan? It's a lot of work and he's a handful. I know the alternative isn't…" she'll sigh and a very sad smile will grace her beautiful face. Sasegawa Kyoko is a kindhearted spirit, much like Tsunayoshi, but she's been hardened over the years of struggle and work. An adult, as one would say. She loves animals dearly, but there are times when an adult must take the front and do the jobs that herself, as an idealistic teen, would be unable to do.

And every time, Tsunayoshi will shake his head, "No! I can't…I can't leave him like this." He'll give his kind boss a smile of his own, brighter than hers and almost hopeless, "I feel like…I feel like if we just gave him a bit more of a chance, than things will get better — right, [insert-name-here]?" The cat or rabbit or dog or whatever the hell it is the boy picks up and doesn't even bat an eye when it scratches him or bites him and whatnot. He'll laugh and the boss will shake her head at him. But she won't intervene like she did the first time because Tsunayoshi will simply attempt to smuggle the creature out. A clumsy idiot with a stubborn streak. What an awful combination.

However, those animals that were so unmanageable would return to the shelter much better. Animal therapist is what they began labeling him. They all seemed to bend and change for the better with Tsunayoshi. The boy just had this…almost magical quality about him to find the good in animals…and well practically in anything and let it shine. Although there were a few animals that absolutely refused to change and so they became permanent residents of the Sawada household. Or technically Sawada's apartment but whatever.

A pity few ever noticed this wonderful quality.

But that was fine, because the few that noticed were the only ones that mattered. Kyoko, his mother…they were the only ones that ever mattered. Oh, and his pets too.

Oh yeah, his pets. Damn it, we should get to that. Anyhow, the day went on as it usually did…

...

..._...

...

Sawada Tsunayoshi had been sleeping soundly, his pets were arranged around him, laying in odd areas and corners of his room or bed. His alarm went off and groggily, he reached out from beneath the blankets and attempted to turn it off, but only succeeding in dropping on the ground instead. Fighting the sleepiness, he pushed the ginger tabby lying on his head. The kitten mewled in protest and he gave it an apologetic pat, "Sorry, Enma…just got to check the clock…"

He looked.

"Gah! I'm late, I'm late!" Tsuna screamed. He catapulted himself out of bed and began picking up assorted articles of clothing lying on the floor and stuffed in his closet. "Ah! No, please Mukuro I don't have time for this today I'm going to be late!" he wailed, seeing as how the harlequin rabbit had decided that his textbooks were a good place to sleep on. At his protests he opened one lazy red eye, and coughed.

Normally Tsuna would find this absolutely adorable. But because he was late well…"You asked for this!" And he pulled it straight out from under the lilac rabbit, making it fall over onto his desk. "I'll make it up to you with pineapple later!" And he made his escape, hopping on one foot and then the other to get his pants on.

He ran into the kitchen sifting through it to pick up some toast and set out food for the pets. As he was doing that he finally noticed the puffy white angora rabbit sitting on his counter eating…marshmallows. "Byakuran! You know that's not good for you!" He pulled away the bag, making the rabbit turn (or attempt to turn) towards him. It was so fluffy, Tsuna could barely see its eyes, but he could tell that the angora was probably trying to give him the big eyes. "N-No means no!" It squeaked and huffed, making the fur fluff up angrily and making him even puffier. The young man could barely hold in the giggles and then sighed in defeat, "Okay then…you can have some but…but you can't go asking for more , understand?" It bobbed its head and then continued pigging out.

Finally preparing the others' food he smacked his forehead, "My bag! Crap, Mukuro's never gonna let me take it!" Last time he was late, the harlequin rabbit chewed through the strap and made a mess of his notes. His teacher didn't buy the whole, 'my rabbit ate my homework excuse'.

Just as he said that there was a soft bark and he looked down to see his faithful Shiba Inu, dubbed Yamamoto, run down the hall carrying his bag. Behind him, barking and growling the entire way, was his energetic Kai Ken, Gokudera. The fairly large Shiba Inu came around, dropping his duffel which was now dripping with saliva and barked happily. Tsuna took the bag without a single grimace, "Thank you Yamamoto, you're a life-saver!" He petted the dog gently before pulling away when his fussier dog came barreling towards him.

He nearly fell over from the force the dog threw itself at him. "Gah! O-oh no I didn't forget you Gokudera, I know you're a good boy too there, there…" A few more pets and the black dog calmed down, dropping on the floor, Tsuna's keys. He took extra care when dealing with these two because if he pet Yamamoto too much, then Gokudera would get immediately jealous and if he gave Gokudera too much attention, then the other would begin howling loudly. "I spoil you guys too much," he sighed before cracking another smile."I'll just leave the food out for you guys, okay? Be good and make sure you don't scratch up the carpet and-! EH? I'M LATE!" he screamed again and burst through the door.

As he ran through the halls and practically flew down each flight of stairs, he was followed by an elegant chartreux feline with cold blue eyes. The beautiful creature was the epitome of grace, following the saying of cats always land on their feet and looking upon everyone (including Tsuna) with deep disdain. The feline could be found patrolling the apartment complex and the very streets of Namimori. But every morning, he waited patiently in the elevator (God only knows how he got in there) for Tsuna without fail. "Here to escort me to school, Hibari?" The cat responded with a haughty look, and then began cleaning itself and giving the aura of I-don't-give-damn. "I'll take that as a yes."

It was a daily ritual that the chartreux would walk his owner to school and it was a matter of principle that he always walk first. And if anyone were to ever ask if Hibari was Tsuna's cat…he shuddered to remember what happened the first and last time he ever said 'yes'.

Getting out of the apartment building, he walked past the alley where he was immediately accosted by a very large, very scarred Doberman. Had Tsuna been unused to this kind of greeting, he would have shrieked like a little girl…kind of how he did in middle school a lot actually. "X-Xanxus, have you been out all night again? How did you even get out?"

The Doberman growled at him and nipped at his bag. "Gah, I don't have time to play today Xanxus! Later!" The chartreux hissed as if to add, 'Get lost, mutt.' The large dog growled back, probably saying something along the lines of, 'Shut up, before I rip you apart.'

It almost seemed as if they were having a verbal fight, hissing and growling at each other. "Oi! No fighting! C'mon Hibari, I'm going to be late. Xanxus, food is out upstairs, why don't you get something to eat from her?" The Doberman seemed to sneer at him before slowly marching away. "A-and stay inside this time!" But of course, the dog ignored him…or seemed to ignore him…gah, he was spending too much with these guys.

"It's not like you guys can actually talk, right?" he said absently. The cat scratched his ankle at that. "H-hey, hey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

—-

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><p>Tsuna came to class late. He attempted to tiptoe in without getting noticed, but as usual, his teacher noticed and called him out. "So look who decided to show up! Too good for my class, Sawada?"<p>

He bowed his head, "N-no sir…"

"Just take a seat and stop wasting my and the class' time," the man growled, before doing a complete 180 and happily continuing his lecture. As he went to his seat, someone tripped him. If he had not been used to the abuse, Tsuna would have fallen down the steps and flat on his face. Somehow, he managed to stumble into his chair. A few students snickered and the usual whispers of 'Dame-Tsuna' went running around again. He felt a few spitballs come his way (what were they — five?) before they lost interest and went back to sleeping through the lesson.

He flunked his quiz. He got pushed around. His bag was 'accidentally' dumped in the trash. Tsuna quickly joined it. He was picked on by students and teacher faculty alike. He lost his lunch. He hid in the bathroom to avoid any more confrontations. And he hid in the back of the room during the lectures, nursing his bruised ribs and trying to pay attention.

Business as usual.

No one really cared about the daily abuse that poor Dame-Tsuna went through. After all, who would want to help someone so hopeless and disgustingly pathetic? That guy was beyond helping. And no one wanted to be a part of the malicious attacks towards the no-good student, so they either ignored him or joined in. It was so easy after all.

They'll say things like, 'useless', 'idiot', and 'trash'. But Tsunayoshi, being the type of person where it is easy to walk all over him, will simply say, "That's nice." He'll smile brightly, pretending that it doesn't bother him when it really does. When he gets hurt, he'll attempt to pull a brave face. When he's scared, he'll stay quiet, and take it without a single cry.

Sawada Tsunayoshi's life was perfectly fine. He was grateful for what he had — a warm home, a job, an education — he was very much grateful.

And guess what? Right now, he was walking to home to his perfectly fine apartment after a perfectly fine day of classes. And he was not upset that his ribs were sore and his left hand wouldn't work right or that he was always walking around with a first aid kit or that he literally had no friends aside from his boss.

Everything was fine.

"Don't trip on your way to the dump, Dame-Tsuna!" Mochida sneered, making sure to shove the poor boy down the steps. Thankfully it wasn't a long way down and Tsuna managed to get away with only cuts and bruises.

"O-ow…" he groaned, clutching his head and trying to block out the obnoxious laughter of his tormentors. He played the fool and sat there, dazed. He didn't say a word, letting the bullies laugh and eventually leave to go torment some other poor soul. When they were finally gone, he picked up his school bag and began the wild goose-chase for his papers, as the wind picked up and began to carry them away. "Wait, come back!" he yelled vainly to his floating papers. He needed those for his tests tomorrow! God at this rate he was going to flunk college.

So like a fool, he chased each and every one, tumbling down stairs and through people as he chased them. He ignored the snickers and the no doubt, demeaning photos they were taking as further evidence of his stupidity.

_So useless._

_What unbelievable bad luck._

_You know what they say, even strong trees have bad branches that need to be cut._

_To think that the Sawada family would produce such a useless child…._

He gritted his teeth and stretched over the railing to grab a stray paper caught in a nearby tree. He smiled faintly to himself. He wasn't totally useless…he was at least able to do this right? His hands shook a bit but he calmed himself down to count the papers.

One…two…three…five…"Ahhh, of course I'm missing the most important one!" he groaned, clutching his hair and mussing it up even more in his frustration. Where…where…? He wandered around and around but to no avail. That was the study guide he needed for the test tomorrow…The urge to curl up into a ball and give up grew ever stronger. But he didn't. Instead, he opted to continue searching, just a little bit more before heading home. It was almost six and he had to get back. The animals surely missed him…right?

He wandered about aimlessly through the streets of Namimori, half-searching and half-day dreaming. He eventually stopped to settle down at the local park. It was empty at this time of day, and he sat down at the bench, trying to catch a break. He wondered who he managed to piss off somewhere in the sky above to become like this. And he gave into the urge, curling up on the bench and putting his forehead in his hands.

As he sat there, he heard a woman mutter to her son as they were passing by, "Don't become like that, Yukio, useless and without a home to go to. Be sure you go to school and get good grades."

"Yes, mama," the little boy replied obediently. The young student didn't look up at the scathing words, didn't even try to look indignant nor notify them that he had heard the insults.

Tsuna waited for them to go before quietly getting up to begin the trek home.

Business as usual.

—-

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><p>Tsuna came home to a messy house. God he was tired…<p>

"Everyone, I'm home!" He managed to muster a weak smile for the small ginger tabby and his two loyal dogs coming up to see him. "You guys must be hungry, ne? Let's get you something… Byakuran, Mukuro, no fighting! Xanxus, get off the table. Hibari…stop scratching the couch!" For the most part, his dogs were fine sans Xanxus. That particular dog refused to listen to anything he said. As for the rabbits and his cat…He groaned. These guys…they were going to be the death of him.

Seeing as how none of them were really listening, he trudged into the kitchen and placed out their bowls, "Dinner!" That got their attention. They immediately went to the bowls, some a little more dignified in their approach and others just jumping in. As they were distracted, Tsuna picked up the bits and pieces on the floor, cleaning up the mess as usual. He just didn't have the strength to work up the energy to be angry right now. But seriously? Why couldn't they decide for once that maybe that all his things weren't chew toys or fun to break?

As usual, he cleaned up the mess and set out the food. As usual, he had the same little sandwich while the animals had the same little bits of kibble and vegetables.

After dinner, Tsunayoshi went to a little altar within a little cabinet in the corner of the living room, kneeling before the picture of his mother and praying as he usually did, "Hi mom…so I — I got beat up at school again. And I lost all my notes too, heck I ran all through campus trying to get them all but I'm still missing some pieces. I broke the professor's special glass case too. And I lost lunch…" he paused, forcing himself to smile, "But I…I'm trying like you wanted me to, right? And I know that things will get better. I even did well on some of my tests." The smiling face of his sweet mother stared serenely back, her eyes still deep with understanding and acceptance.

…Not like how his life at his father's had been.

"Everything's getting better, really!" His words sounded fake even to him. His hands shook a bit and the ache in his chest intensified. Before he knew it, little tears streamed down his face. He quickly rubbed them away, blinking rapidly and then laughing hollowly as if to pretend for the portrait that he was fine. "I'm fine…I'm really — Everything's just…wonderful."

He ended up stopping there. "So uh — that's it," he finished lamely, before getting up. He felt a soft purr and looked down to see Enma, rubbing his head against his leg. "I'm fine, you know," he said aloud, but petted the little cat. He looked up to see the other animals looking upon him concernedly, "I mean it!"

They all seemed to roll their eyes at him.

To distract himself, he sat down and turned on the TV. And as usual, the pets dropped what they were doing, regardless if they were finished eating or not, and flopped onto the couch with him. Mukuro landed in his lap while Byakuran squished in on Tsuna's left. Gokudera hopped onto the couch to lay down next to Tsuna's right, while Yamamoto and Xanxus sat down at his feet — at a respective distance from one another of course. Enma curled up on one armrest of the couch while Hibari sat at a respective distance from the rest on the kitchen counter.

It was comfy and a little less lonely, something that Tsuna was extremely grateful for. He flipped through the channels lazily, skipping from repetitive game shows and cheesy soaps to random anime and old movies. A small part of his head feebly argued that he should do his homework, but he just didn't care. At one point, Byakuran coughed when he flipped to a channel showcasing the movie, The Little Mermaid, and assumed that the rabbit wanted to watch it. They managed to get through at least thirty minutes before Tsuna fell asleep, falling over to lay down on the couch and practically squishing Gokudera. Being a very loyal Kai Ken, the black dog didn't let out so much as a whimper.

So only the pets watched, seeing in amazement as the fish girl became a human to be with the one she loved. Each had their own thoughts — Mukuro thought the girl was a fool, who the hell would give up the right to power for someone she hardly knew? The rabbit shot a glance at Gokudera and snorted. The Kai Ken growled lowly, and pretended not to like it all…but couldn't help but be entranced by the colorful pictures and songs. Xanxus thought the entire movie was trash, Yamamoto enjoyed pretty much everything so…Byakuran was just amused with it all, how trivial it all was; while Hibari couldn't really focus on the movie with the herbivores' clamoring, and he stalked off to pace the apartment. Enma was probably the only one out of all of them that actually enjoyed it.

'It's touching, isn't it?' Enma mewed out loud.

Xanxus scoffed, 'She's trash for falling for trash. This entire fucking thing is just a cluster fuck of scum.'

Being the shy little kitty he was, the poor tabby cat curled in on himself. Yamamoto came to his defense, 'Oh I don't know, guys, isn't it nice? To be with the one you love most?'

At this, Gokudera barked, 'Well she's stupid for going off with a stranger and forgetting her entire family while she was at it. What a stupid bitch!' Yamamoto, not having much of an answer, just laughed again.

'As much as it loathes me to agree with the dog,' Mukuro said, looking at the black dog with distaste, 'She's a naive little fool.'

Hibari, having walked in and at least watching the little mermaid strike a deal with the evil sea witch, said, 'Only herbivores rely on others,' He then turned his flashing yellow eyes upon the crowd on the couch, 'Like the herbivores crowding around the stupid herbivore.'

Gokudera barked and Xanxus bristled. 'You want to say that again, scum?'/'Shut the fuck up, stupid cat!'

Byakuran stayed silent contemplating the possibilities. Watching as the sea witch detailed the contract, as she danced around a cauldron to form the spell. At this moment, their human began to stir and the white angora said in a voice that was far too happy to be normal, 'Ara, you woke up little Tsunayoshi, aren't you going to take responsibility, stupid dog-chan~?'

Gokudera would have barked again but shut up when he heard his human whimper. Tsunayoshi, instead of waking up, kept his eyes shut and began to tremble. They watched in horror as he began to cry out for help and clutched the sofa arm for dear life. The dog attempted to wake his human up and the others began to tug at his clothes, but he didn't seem to wake up at all. It was only when Hibari swiped at his cheek a little hard than he meant to and leaving a nasty cut on his human's cheek did the poor thing wake up. He jolted and sat up so quickly that Mukuro ended up falling off of his lap and startling the rest. "Wh-what?!" he yelped, "W-where are — am I…?" His eyes darted wildly from the room, as if he couldn't believe where he was. His eyes fell upon the pets, noticing their worried glances…

"I-I-" When he failed to bring up a smile or even pretend to say that he was okay, he ended up breaking down, squeezing his eyes shut. He put his face in his hands, crouching over and crying like a child. All of the animals, even Hibari, leaned forward. Mukuro butted his nose against him, Yamamoto licked his arm, Gokudera snuggled up to him, Byakuran nibbled on his pants, Enma patted his head with one little paw. And Hibari and Xanxus…well, they scooted a little closer.

But as much as they tried, Tsunayoshi wasn't at all consoled. If anything, it made him feel worse. "Just…guys…" the pets continued to press against him, trying to comfort him in ways that a fellow animal might be reassured by. But of course, Tsuna didn't understand that in his unstable state, and pushed them away, "Stop it..Stop it, just leave me alone!" he snapped. All of them flinched. The young student ended up feeling worse than before. He looked to see frightened and sad eyes looking back at him. They were all so disappointed…like in that stupid nightmare…

He bit his lip, "I'm sorry I-I shouldn't have yelled you guys are just trying and I…" He looked down into his lap, "I'm hopeless aren't I?" he finished brokenly, before running off into his room and shutting the door, keeping the others from entering.

They scratched at the door, howled and mewed for the human to let them in. To no avail. It was easy to tell their poor human was crying. It was soft, but their sharp ears could hear it, every little sob and hitch of breath. Added to the sounds of a broken child were the snaps of seven little hearts being broken.

Perhaps it was then that they may have felt an inkling of what the foolish little mermaid had felt. While they believed their hearts were in the right place, the love they felt could not be truly expressed with the two, vastly different worlds they belonged to. And how they began to long and wish for a way to leave this dreaded body…to leave this prison of animal flesh and adorn the skin of man. If only to be with the one they loved.

And it was because of this most earnest, unspoken wish that a miracle did occur.

From the window, the softest light fell through the window, and the lightest voice did say, 'What would you give to be with the one you love?'

—

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><p>Tsuna felt like shit. He sounded like shit, he looked like shit, everything was just…shit. Thank god it was a Friday. He only had one class. And while it was with Mochida and Nezu-sensei (that man had it out for him, the student swore) it was only a test and they'd be done. Granted he would flunk it but hey, he was used to that kind of thing.<p>

Forcing himself out of bed, he walked into the adjacent bathroom to clean up. It was only until he finished washing up the he realized that it was quiet. No barking or hissing, growling or mewling. Panic bubbled up inside him. Where did the animals go? Did they…? He ran outside of his room and immediately was met by a wall. A wall with arms. A wall with arms and a very deep voice. "And here I thought you would never come out of there, Tsunayoshi."

"Wh-what..?" He looked up to see a man, at least a head taller than him, smiling slyly down at him. He had odd, heterochromatic eyes — one red and one blue — and an odd pineapple sort of hairstyle with dark hair that was an odd shade of indigo. But the stranger's most notable feature was the odd, twitching, lilac spotted, rabbit ears sprouting from the top of his head. And they looked pretty damn realistic, twitching and moving and looking to be genuine fur.

So in total, a very handsome man who somehow knew his name and was wearing very realistic rabbit ears had broken into his apartment and was currently holding onto him like a leech. Of course the first thing that fell out of his mouth was, "P-P-Pervert!"

He shoved away the man, and ran off. Surprisingly enough, the man didn't follow very quickly, despite seeming to be rather athletic. As he ran, he found himself smashing into something else. While he would have normally fallen flat on his face and hurting himself on the hard wooden floor, he fell on something a bit…cushier. Looking down, he gaped at the other fully-grown man beneath him. He had dark red hair and a bandages placed on his cheek and over the bridge of his nose. Opening his eyes, Tsuna found that they were blood-red. He wore orange-ish, reddish, cat ears.

They ended up staring at each other for a good minute before the other spoke. "U-um, h-hi?" he said lamely, before Tsuna rolled off, yelping, and sprinted away from the man he bumped into. As he ran for the door, he was met by a messy, white-haired man with pure white rabbit ears. Violet eyes zeroed in on him. "Tsu-chan, there you are!" The bunny man ran for him and Tsuna screamed and turned away.

He ran into the dining room and much to his dismay, found four other men, all of them very handsome like the first three, either sitting at the table or standing away from each other and giving dirty glances. One man was smiling brightly and had dark hair with friendly brown eyes and golden dog ears. He was being scolded by a silver-haired, emerald eyed man with a deep scowl on his face and black dog ears. Another man, this one with very scary red eyes, leaned against the fridge and had very painful looking burn scars running across his face and hands and wore gray dog ears. The last was standing away from the rest, examining them all with steel blue eyes and a cold, almost emotionless expression. He had black cat ears…did all the criminals breaking into his apartment have an animal fetish or something?! Everyone's eyes, landed on him. Turning around, Tsuna saw the other three he bumped into blocking the exit.

"W-what's happening…?" he said, feeling the room spin around him. How could they have all broken in so easily? God was he going to die? The silver haired man, immediately jumped out of his chair and grabbed the poor confused boy's hand.

"Tenth, you're finally awake!" he practically yelled, his eyes were sparkling in admiration, as if Tsunayoshi had just found the cure for cancer. "I knew you would, I just knew you would come out to see us!" And then the man hugged him as would an old friend…or a lover. Tsuna pushed the man away, who gave him such a hurt expression that the man felt the sudden urge to hug this odd stranger back.

He backed away from them all, picking up a nearby lamp and brandishing it as a weapon. Not like it would do much good if they wanted to kill him or… but h-he had to try! "W-who are you people and why are you in my house?!" he screeched.

They all looked at him as if he were the crazy one. The smiley one answered him, "We're your friends of course! Remember me, Tsuna? It's Yamamoto! That's Gokudera-" he pointed to the silver-haired man, "That's Hibari-" he pointed to the cold-eyed man, "Enma, Mukuro, Xanxus," he pointed to the redhead, the pineapple head and the scary scar man respectively, "And that's Byakuran!" he said, gesturing to the white, bunny man.

Tsuna shrank away. They were all looking at him intently, as if he should just accept the fact that all his animals just turned into people…The student vaguely wondered if he was dreaming or had finally gone crazy. To check, he pinched himself and winced when it actually hurt and he didn't wake up. The silver-haired man's eyes softened and he stepped forward, "And it's me, Tenth. Gokudera…really!"

They all seemed to genuinely believe that they were his pets. God, did they escape from some asylum or something? B-but they were all wearing really expensive looking suits and looked a little too well-kept to be escapees. And then there were the animal ears that looked just too…too real. They moved and drooped and stiffened. He didn't know what took a hold of him but he put down the lamp. 'Gokudera' smiled and stepped forward, but Tsuna stopped him, "W-wait! S-so if you say you're really my p-pets then prove it!"

Xanxus and Hibari just stared at him, as if this story sharing game was stupid and that Tsuna was personally insulting them for questioning it.

'Byakuran' seemed to have no problem with the proposal, however, and said, "Well you always throw out my marshmallow bags because you think I'll get fat." He pouted, "That's not very nice, Tsu-chan." The brunet sweat-dropped.

'Yamamoto' smiled, "And you got me three tennis balls for my birthday and I accidentally dropped them all off of the balcony and hit the doorman!"

'Gokudera' growled, "And then tenth had to go apologize and save your ass because the bastard door idiot wanted to kick you out! I bit his hand for you, tenth!" he finished triumphantly.

'And he nearly sued me for it!' Tsuna screamed internally.

'Mukuro' stepped forward smoothly, "Just last morning, you shoved me off of your textbooks. You never did pay me back. I'm expecting that debt to be returned in full," he said smoothly. The deep voice was giving him shivers and he couldn't help but feel as if he was being violated just hearing it.

Enma twiddled his thumbs, "Y-you gave me this bandage," he pointed to his nose, "When you picked me up from the…well when you took me in," he said quietly, seeming to want to disappear rather than talk. The brunet would have sympathized with him if the situation were different.

So…so they had some pretty convincing stories that he was sure no one should have known. That meant…that meant they were telling the truth…? Or they were super stalkers. To tell the truth, he wasn't really sure what was worse. But unfortunately, he had to know so he — he said to the silver-haired dog man, "C-can you please come here for a minute?"

The man smiled brightly, "Of course, tenth!" He knelt down at the shorter male's feet. Which actually suited his purposes. Following that, the young brunet knelt down and touched his ears, which twitched at the contact. Flesh and bone. He worked at the animal shelter long enough to know that at the very least, and he'd touched these exact same ears for the past two years on his faithful Kai Ken. Sifting through his hair, he found the base of the ear was not attached to a headband. And in extreme cases, there were no stitches or images of surgical attachment (trust him, there were crazy people out there that actually did that — fetishes are weird). No, these were genuinely attached to his head, as if they had grown out of him…or had always been there.

When he let go, his Kai Ken turned human looked up at him, "Do you believe me now tenth?" he said, looking at him nervously. His eyes — his eyes were the same as Gokudera's.

"I-I-…Y-you-"

Tsuna promptly passed out.

It was at the tender age of eighteen that God decided he hated Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Continue? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ayyyy, what's up? So yeah you guys were ridiculously responsive. MY GOD. Like seriously, I was given a lot of love from you guys in the shape of reviews/favs/follows etc. IT WAS LEGEN - wait for it - DARY. Superbly happy. I would like to reply to all of you but...some of you are guest so I can't ;^;. But thank you very much sweet guest people who left reviews. Anyways, I hope you like this. It's longer than the last one. So...sorry if you're feeling a little overwhelmed. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tsu-chan, therefore by the transitive property, I don't own KHR! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

...

He was dreaming. He was totally, absolutely dreaming and he would wake up and everything would be exactly the same as it was.

"Stay away from the tenth, you pervert rabbit!"

"Aww, but Goku-chan, you're more of a pervert for clinging to Tsu-chan in such a way ne? So scandalous~."

"Fuck you!"

"Shut the fuck up, scum."

"Hey come on guys, let's all just try to get along, yeah?"

"Oya? Look, foolish dog, you made the skylark angry."

_SMACK._

"Ow, damn it! Fuck you, cat-bastard!"

"P-please stop fighting…"

Those were just dream voices. Yeah, they were all in his head and he would wake up and everything would be just fine.

"Kufufufu, is that all you can do skylark?"

_SMACK _

"Ow! T-that's my face Hibari-san…"

"Hey, c'mon we're amongst friends here, yeah?"

If he ignored it long enough, maybe it would go away…

"You broke the tenth's fucking clock again you stupid rabbit bastard!"

"Scum, shut up already."

"Oh no, Xanxan is angry~"

When he forced himself to open his eyes, he found himself in his own room. If not for the loud voices, he would have assumed it had all been a dream. His clothes had gotten a little rumpled and checking the time, he let out a breath in relief to see that he had not been asleep for long. 8:00 AM. Class started in an hour, so he was actually lucky (He would eat those words later). He wondered if one of the men - pets — ugh this was confusing… had carried him in. He wondered as to why they weren't in here as he expected them to be.

He felt a fit of giggles threatening to overtake him. His pets had turned into humans. Against all odds, this somehow happened. Seriously, did he piss off some otherworldly deity when he was born or something? Of course this kind of insane, almost impossible situation would happen to him!

Running a hand through his hair, he managed to calm himself down and look around his room. Nothing had been moved, hell it seemed that he was just dropped here and then they left. It felt…oddly lonely. He meant, he was kind of used to it when they were animals — god this was going to be so confusing — usually stayed with him. Guess they didn't want to stick around. Now that they could walk and talk, how much were things going to change? He had to pay for not one person and seven pets, but seven fully grown men. There was no way he would be able to pay for that! …With just his salary… He bit his lip. No way. No way was he going to…him.

B-But if he couldn't support them, where would they go? What if they decided they didn't need such a useless owner and left on their own? They were probably going to have a better chance at not failing at life like he was now.

No way would they stick with him now…

The thought made him feel slightly sick. Suddenly he was terrified of going out and he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it'd be better to call in sick rather than go to school — if at least to avoid what was waiting for him outside. God, he was such a coward. Just as he was about to reach for the phone, he lightly slapped his cheeks. You're better than this! You're not going to stoop this low! You can do it!

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Fake it till you make it, right?

After a few more minutes of panicked breathing and pacing, he found the courage to push open the door. He walked slowly, tiptoeing down the corridor as the voices got louder. He peeked around the corner to see them all sitting at the table. Upon closer examination, he found that they did remind him of his pets, and not including the most painfully obvious animal ears. No, even their mannerisms seemed similar. Byakuran was pigging out, although on cereal instead of marshmallows, Mukuro was bothering Hibari, who was trying to stay away but couldn't climb up the rafters to do so. Gokudera was yelling at Yamamoto, who was smiling through it all as if it were normal conversation. Xanxus was glowering at the everyone and Enma…poor thing was sitting in the corner trying to become one with the wall. Much to his annoyance, it seemed that everyone (hell even Enma, who was practically an itty bitty kitten before) was taller than him and were all wearing very expensive looking black suits.

Ah, looking down he felt horribly underdressed in his rumpled uniform. The beige blazer and trousers probably needed to be ironed again, and his tie and shirt could get some starching too…

"Tsu-chan? What are you doing all by your lonesome?" His head snapped up and he screeched at the close proximity the white rabbit was to his face. He backpedaled quickly, covering his face out of reflex. "Aw, did I scare you, Tsu-chan?"

'No shit!' he yelled in his head, but of course Tsuna was a polite little one and said nothing of the sort. Coming to his rescue was Gokudera, barking- er - scolding the white rabbit before him.

"Asshole, what the fuck do you think you're doing to the Tenth?" he screeched, before shoving past the rabbit and, with surprising gentleness, pulled the brunet onto his feet.

"Oh, no, I'm okay, Gokudera — just a little surprised. U-um, sorry Byakuran," he said meekly, bowing his head in embarrassment.

"There's no need to apologize to that poor excuse for a rabbit, Tsunayoshi," a deep voice said. Looking up, he saw Mukuro, leaning on the counter and looking in his general direction.

"Aw, that's so mean, pineapple-chan," Byakuran said, smiling serenely and emanating an aura of deep discontent. Trying to break the tension, Yamamoto walked over and threw an arm around the student and smiled warmly.

"But in other words, we should be the sorry ones Tsuna. We kind of - uh -" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Looking past his Shiba Inu's shoulder, he saw that his poor dinner table was somehow reduced to mere splinters. Oh god. Reborn was going to kill him. It didn't matter if he wasn't here to see it. That man would find out somehow and murder him.

"Not 'we'" Gokudera hissed, "It was him!" and he pointed his finger dramatically at the scarred Doberman, looking at them all imperiously from his chair. The man, seeing Tsuna look at him, widened his eyes for a fraction of a second before turning away and huffing something along the lines of "scum".

"Now that's not very nice, Xanxus!" Yamamoto said cheerfully.

Byakuran decided to join in on the teasing, "Ora? How dare you call Tsu-chan that when you were the one that broke his table hmmm Xanxan?"

The Doberman glared at the angora, "Shut the hell up before I tear you to pieces, trash," he growled, intimidating Tsuna enough to hide behind Gokudera, who was more than willing to protect his precious 'tenth'. Whatever that meant…

"Hey, c'mon guys let's just get along!" Yamamoto said, still smiling despite the tension in the room.

"Yeah, stop fucking around in the tenth's home you bastards!" Not helping Gokudera, not helping…

Mukuro rolled his eyes at the dog, "Oya, a dog is trying to order us all around? What has this world come to?" he directed this last question at little Enma, who was still trying to sink into the floor. At the question, he quietly nodded his head, probably not really paying attention to the question and flinched when Gokudera growled at him.

The silver-haired man, stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves and eye twitching in anger, "That's it, pineapple I don't care who you are! I'm going to throw you off the damn balcony!"

Mukuro was completely unfazed, "Kufufu, I'd like to see you try, ugly mutt."

Completely forgetting Tsuna, Gokudera charged forward, but was held back by a still-smiling (really?) Yamamoto. Mukuro just kept adding fuel to the fire whilst Byakuran and Xanxus engaged in a silent staring war between each other. Hibari…now that he thought about it where was Hibari?

"U-um guys…please stop fighting…" he said, trying to raise his voice over the noise.

"Calm down now Gokudera, we're all-"

"Like hell any of us here are friends baseball freak! So let me the fuck go!"

"Hm, as I suspected. The mutt's all bark but no bite — how disappointing," the harlequin rabbit said, leering at the furious Kai Ken.

"Aw, Xanxan, that's my cereal. If you want to share I'd be more than willing," Byakuran said, although the look on his face completely negated everything he said.

The scarred man was unfazed, "Keep your bullshit out of my face, scum, and go back to the trash heap where you belong."

"Isn't that what I should be saying to you?"

Aaaand no one was listening. Why did he expect anything different? So he sat down, trying to give his brain a break from the obvious strain it was going through. He nearly jumped when Enma sat down besides him on the couch. "O-oh! E-Enma-kun…right?" The cat nodded, his ears flattening against his head.

"I'm sorry, we would have — we would have explained the moment you woke up, but we were scared to go into your room after you yelled at us last night…" he said shyly, tucking his legs and curling up into a ball. Them? Scared? Surprising as that was, somehow it felt somewhat predictable for his…animals — er, you get what he meant.

In a way it was kind of endearing. If you ignore the yelling that probably came with it.

"O-oh well…that's fine! R-really!" he said quickly, seeing as how the poor thing had flattened his ears and was…well, twitching and trying to sink into the couch. For a while they sat there in an uncomfortable silence when Tsuna heard something…or someone growl. It was coming from someone's stomach to be precise. It was coming from seven — six, Hibari seemed to have vacated the room at one point — stomachs to be nitpicky about it.

….

"Um, I guess you guys haven't gotten breakfast yet huh?"

The looks they all gave him made him feel like nothing had changed. Not a single bit.

…

…

…

Tsunayoshi swore up and down that mankind's greatest invention was neither the car nor the internet. It was his toaster. It was fast, it could cook several at a time, and it helped quiet down the rambunctious people now living in his humble home. Of course, being young, single and very much alone, he only bought enough for one human and seven assorted animals.

He was forced to give them all (and it was very much embarrassing to him) toast. He turned on the TV and settled on the couch, seeing as how his precious dining table was utterly annihilated. Now, this probably would have been a very comfortable arrangement, would have been a very comfortable morning had things not been awry and his pets were pets and not fully grown men who thought they were still pets and that this was somehow okay.

"G-guys…are you really sure you're comfortable like this?" he said, slightly twitching. He didn't have the will to yell at them to all get off. That was a little too…

Various mutters of agreement wandered around the room and Tsuna wanted to scream. And wail. And complain. This was most definitely not comfortable. At the moment, it seemed that everyone thought they were animals and could therefore continue on with the usual seating arrangements. Mukuro had decided to lay his head in Tsuna's lap, laying down to his right, while Gokudera snuggled up to him on his left. To the right, Byakuran was assigned to sit on the seat's back — much like Hibari who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere with a piece of toast in his mouth. Yamamoto decided to sit at his feet with Enma while Xanxus basically stood up, leaning on the couch's armrest. All in all, it was not the cushiest of arrangements.

They were watching the news, who were currently talking about some person or other that had been murdered in the area. Of course, the pets didn't really care but Tsuna couldn't help but get even more nervous than usual.

_The perpetrator has yet to be found…Officials believe that this may be a result of gang activities and urge citizens to stay in their homes at night and avoid suspicious areas and moving alone… _

"E-eeep!" Tsuna shrieked as Mukuro turned his head, wrapping his arms around the little brunet's waist and effectively hugging him tightly by the stomach.

"Don't worry, Tsunayoshi, we'll protect you," he said easily, as if he were talking about taking out the trash instead of probably dangerous murderers.

At the same time, Gokudera immediately latched onto Tsuna, refusing to be beaten, "More like I'll protect you, tenth! You — get your damn hands off of the tenth!" he barked. Of course, the harlequin rabbit didn't listen, only so much as twitched his ears before hugging onto the young owner tighter. Of course, as if this were a competition, Gokudera began clamping down on little Tsuna as well.

"Looks like fun, I wanna join in!" Byakura cooed. If Tsuna had looked, he would have seen the possessive look in the angora's eyes as he wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned down to rest his head on the brunet's.

"Oh, is this a game?" Yamamoto asked, before putting an arm around one of the brunet's legs. "I guess I'll join in too!" He sounded innocent enough, but Tsuna shivered when the Shiba Inu started running his hand up and down his leg. T-that… Enma seemed to have joined in too. _Bad touch - V-very bad touch-! _

"P-please stop doing that-!"

Something hard smacked the white angora off of the student's head. "E-eep!" he squeaked, covering his head with his hands in fear of the offending object hitting him. Looking up he saw that Byakuran had been completely knocked off the chair and was on the ground. A tonfa had been raised right above his head. And that tonfa happened to belong to none other than his very scary, and very temperamental chartreux. "H-Hibari i-it's not good to fight-!"

Any dignity he had as a man (psh, that label's a stretch for you Mr. Tuna) must have disappeared by the amount of shrieking he had done today. Hibari decided that he wanted the little brunet as a headrest instead and occupied the space where Byakuran once had. Poor rabbit…

"Good riddance," he heard his Kai Ken mutter before barking at everyone else, "Now get the hell off!"

"Maybe you should let go first, Mr. Hypocrite," Mukuro quipped.

Yamamoto followed up on that, "No can do, Gokudera, or I'll lose the game!"

The channel, having switched to commercials about dog leashes, Xanxus growled and glared at Tsuna like he was the sole creator of the bane of the dog's existence. The poor young man of course, flinched. But in reality, Xanxus wasn't so much as angry at his owner as he was for the little human letting scum cling to his clothes. He would not sink so low as to join in that fuck fest (that's the biggest lie if I've ever heard one).

"U-Um, guys this is a little —" he jumped when the white rabbit recovered and wrapped his arms around the brunet's neck. Any tighter and he would be in a chokehold. The room was suffocating. Tsuna's infamous self-preservation instincts kicked in. "I-I-I-…I'M LATE!" he suddenly screamed, miraculously throwing off all six of them and speeding out the door. "I-I'm sorry guys, I've gotta go!" he yelped, grabbing his bag and tripping on his way out to the door. Some of them, namely Hibari and Byakuran, fell over and were currently giving everyone else death glares.

"Bye guys, I'll be back!" And without even looking back, he slammed the door and locked it shut. He was tempted to slide down to the floor and stay there. That was…terrifying. And perhaps it was a little careless of him to leave so quickly like that but…but he just needed space to breathe, which they did not seem to want to give him.

So scary…

But now that he was out of his apartment, at the very least he could put the problem off of his mind until he was done with school.

Checking his clock, he wasn't really that late. He had fifteen minutes left, plenty of time to walk down there, but the excuse had always managed to get the animals moving and conceding. …Except they weren't animals anymore and could potentially cause a lot more damage than before.

He shook his head, and resolutely moved to the elevator door. He was not looking back and he would not worry about this right when he had a test coming up.

Besides — what could possibly go wrong?

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Oi, Sawada!" The young brunet, who had been speeding towards the school gates, broke his gaze with the sidewalk and looked up to see Ryohei, his boss' enthusiastic older brother and famous ex-boxer, waving at him.

"O-oh, good morning, onii-san!" he said, running over to his boss' older brother. "What are you doing here, I thought you were out of the country for a job?"

"I got back early! So, go join the boxing club, Sawada! Your cuteness as a mascot would draw in members to the EXTREME!" he yelled, throwing his fists into the air.

Tsuna flinched and turned red. "Onii-san…I'm not really cute, and the boxing club disbanded already," he sighed. Four years ago in fact, when Ryohei had left and the members refused to keep up with their passionate ex-captain's spartan routine.

"And that's why we need you to bring members back! Have more confidence, Sawada, you're cute to the EXTREME!" he yelled without one ounce of shame. Tsuna supposed he should have accepted the compliment graciously as such things were far and few in-between, but it was hard to take this without keenly feeling the degradation of his manhood.

"Well, I gotta go…" he said tiredly, edging away from the man, "I left the animals by themselves and I really, really need to go check on them. N-nice seeing you, onii-san!"

The ex-boxer seemed to ponder for this for a second. Then he declared, while punching a strong left at an invisible opponent, "I'll extremely walk you there then!"

Tsuna nodded absently, "Oh, that's nic— wait what?"

The enthusiastic ex-boxer repeated it, "I'll take you home, Sawada!" That could be taken wrong in so many ways. "It's dangerous for someone like you to be walking alone by yourself!"

The young man couldn't say no fast enough. "No! I-I mean — I don't really need it, I'll be fine so you don't have to go out of your way-"

"Nonsense Sawada! Let's go, to the extreme!" He grabbed the little brunet's hand and much to the little one's dismay, dragged him away.

Poor Tsuna couldn't seem to get a break today. He couldn't focus on his test at all, worrying here and there about his…his friends at home and he was terrified that he would come home and they'd either be gone or hurt from playing around the apartment. He got tripped again and a nasty bruise was forming on his wrist. He hoped that he hadn't sprained it. He needed to work today and he needed that paycheck if he wanted to even hope to get through the week with his new guests.

He was by no means, kicking any of them out. Changed they may be, they were still…they were still his friends and he would protect and care for them as best as he could. At least for as long as they would be able to stand him. And well, he needed the extra time between his shift at the animal shelter to look for a second job.

The poor young brunet was not having a good day. And this day was quickly reaching the status of living-in-infamy-for-being-so-damn-bad because now Ryohei, despite Tsuna pretending to be hurt and distracted and practically digging his heels into the ground, the ex-boxer was resolutely dragging him back to his apartment. No, no, no, no, he did not need Ryohei to find out what the hell happened at his apartment. He knew the man probably wouldn't do anything bad, but he wasn't exactly the best at keeping secrets. The moment word got out he was awfully frightened that someone would come to take them away.

Hey, Tsuna may be useless and painfully dense, but he's not completely stupid. Half human and half animal hybrids? That's a recipe for experiments and crazies which Tsuna definitely does not need thank you very much.

So what do you do when there's an extremely persistent EXTREME ex-boxer that wants to take you home and you can't let him go with you because he'll see and scream to the world about the seven handsome and half-animal hybrid men in your apartment?

Do every possible activity that you pass by on your way there.

"I —- uh — I just remembered I need to go grocery shopping!"

"It's been getting cold, so why don't we go buy some sweater, right onii-san?"

"I'm hungry, aren't you?"

"Oh look, it's the park! U-um, the kids look like they need help with that castle in the sandbox, why don't you help them?"

They ended up shaving away the day's hours, leaving him barely any time to get away because it seemed Ryohei was very insistent on spending time with him today. He tried, several times, to lose the man. But every time he was about to leave, the overly-enthusiastic 'brother' would run up and give chase.

"It's okay, let me carry those for you Sawada!"

"Totally extreme sweater shopping!"

"Eat till I pass out to the extreme!"

"Oi, kids! Let's build a castle worthy of Muguruma* himself!"

Seriously, no matter how inane the request or how stupid it was he stuck around and did it with the younger man. He liked Ryohei, he really did. But the man was a bit…overbearing. By the time they were done and he was out of ideas, Tsuna had no choice but to return so he could see the ani- the people back at his apartment before they probably starved or bored themselves to death.

"U-um, onii-san the animals are a little temperamental and we're already in the building so I can go to my room-"

"But Sawada, the stairs are a very long walk! And you have so much stuff!" Ryohei exclaimed, gesturing to the many bags they were both carrying. Tsuna laughed embarrassedly.

"I'll take the elevator, I'll be fine…"

But the white-haired man puffed out his chest and said, "A manly, extreme man has to be able to take care things like this!"

As much as he - uh - enjoyed the man's company, he really, really didn't want to deal with this anymore. "I promise I'll-"

"What the hell is with all the scum mucking up down here?" Oh god. No. No. No. This could not be happening.

"Oh? Who's that?" he heard Ryohei murmur. Out of all his pets the one that had to find them, it was…

"X-Xanxus?" Tsuna stammered, dropping his things nervously, "W-what are you doing out here? I-I…I thought you were inside…" He tried to refer to his apartment as vaguely as possible but by the narrowing of the other''s eyes it was clear that Ryohei knew exactly what he was referring to. The worry lessened a bit, seeing as how the Doberman had had the good mind to wear a fedora over his head to hide the ears but…

Ignoring that question, Xanxus sauntered over to Tsuna's side, bluntly placing an arm around his waist and glared at the supposed 'stranger' intermingling with what was his. "Get the fuck out of here."

Tsuna railed against the hold, "W-what are you-?!"

"I will extremely not!" Ryohei stepped forward, not at all intimidated by the man before him and cracked his knuckles. "I'm Sasegawa Ryohei, extreme captain of the boxing club!" he yelled proudly. Even Xanxus twitched at the volume of his voice, although more out of irritation than out of surprise like Tsuna. He then stuck out a finger in the short brunet's face, "That's my otouto, and I have to make sure of something!"

Make sure of what? "W-wait, wait, wait, wait, I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding…right? Right?" his head swiveled between the two as he attempted to extricate himself from Xanxus' hold. "L-look, Ryohei can you tell Kyoko I'll be a little late? A-and X-Xanxus please just go upstairs and I'll be with you in a minute."

"A real man never backs down!" Ryohei spouted.

Xanxus growled, "Only trash runs away with his tail between his legs."

Tsuna flailed, trying to diffuse what felt to be a ticking time bomb.

"Oi, what's going on out there?!" A cranky looking man that seemed to be about in his mid forties came out, wearing a messy suit and trying his very best to appear intimidating and pompous before present company. The young student had hoped that perhaps the cranky doorman would save him from this situation with his…unpleasantness — to put it nicely. He gave poor Dame-Tsuna one disdainful look and opened his fat mouth to say-

Nothing.

Xanxus didn't even give him a chance. Picking up a can of carrots in one of Tsuna's bags, he threw it so hard that it left a sizable crater in the wall right next to the man's head.

He squealed like a pig and fell right on his rear. "Wha- What the…?"

"Get the fuck out of my sight, scum," the red-eyed man glowered, making the man squeak almost as high as Tsuna. And considering the young man's high pitch, especially when it came to surprise, that was pretty damn high.

The man, out of either stupidity or false bravado, protested, "H-How —- How dare you break my wall-!"

A single leek went flying over, stabbing the wall right above the man and just barely grazing the top of his bald head. Ryohei, with his terrifying fiery eyes said, "Don't interfere with a fight between men!" Once, shame on Xanxus, twice shame on the doorman. He couldn't run out of the room fast enough. Ah, if only Tsuna could get away so easily…

The ex-boxer immediately continued arguing, "You shouldn't throw Sawada's food!" Then it soon changed to, "That was great throw, you should join the boxing club!"

"Fuck no," the scarred man snapped, "Now get the hell out-"

"Super, extremely, extreme to the extreme, PUNCH!" The man yelled, as he shot a punch towards the red-eyed man.

"No!" Tsuna flung himself in front of Xanxus. Ryohei's eyes widened, Xanxus flinched, and things seemed to go into slow motion with everyone being unable to stop what was happening.

Tsuna closed his eyes, preparing for the worst, but opened them when he realized no punch came. Instead, there was a loud cracking sound. The scarred man behind him had caught the other's fist and judging from the blood dripping down, he had inextricably broken a few bones while he was at it. There was a tense silence, mainly out of shock that surprisingly came from all three parties. Almost immediately, Xanxus let go and Tsuna ran forward, grabbing the man's injured fist.

"Oh my god, onii-san — Xanxus, how could you?" he cried, looking back. The scarred dog was just as surprised, although he didn't really show it. He turned away, not willing to look the poor owner in the face. The small brunet turned around, freaking out over Ryohei. "Here, why don't you come in, I'll take care of it!" he offered. Because pets be damned this looked like it really, really hurt.

Instead Ryohei pulled away and — well — he laughed, smiling almost maniacally. Tsuna vaguely wondered if the hit had finally sent the passionate boxer off the edge. "No problem Sawada! This is great!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Then he sidestepped the worried brunet and stepped up to the dark-haired man. Xanxus flashed back on his angry scowl, daring for the man to try again. Instead, the boxer stuck out his good hand and said, "Please take good care of Sawada! I'm glad he's found someone as strong as you! I was suspicious at first but you're a good guy, Xanxus!"

Wait…what?

The Doberman just looked so shocked…Tsuna was tempted to laugh at the utter ridiculousness at the situation. Now if only he had a camera. If it wouldn't been so undignified, Xanxus probably would have gaped at the crazy man waving his hand in front of him.

Seeing as how the man didn't answer, Ryohei took initiative and furiously shook his hand. Stepping closer, Tsuna noticed a very familiar fire lighting his eyes, "Join the boxing club!"

The young pet owner wanted to smash his head into the wall. That was what he was thinking about?! "O-Onii-san, why don't we treat your hand before we start getting too excited…"

"This is nothing, Sawada!" the man yelled, suddenly rounding on the small brunet, "I extremely broke my jaw and ankle but I extremely defeated my opponent with my head!" Of course, when he said that Tsuna immediately knew that the man meant it literally.

The ex-boxer then let go, before turning to the two of them, "You look good together, but next time tell me when you're out dating someone, Sawada!"

"W-we're not—" he spluttered, "We're friends!"

He gave Tsuna a ridiculously bright smile and gave him the thumbs up, "It's extremely good that you have someone around! Extreme goodbye Sawada, I have to go see my wife before she extremely kills me!" For a second, the enthusiastic man's eyes flashed to show a dark side that Tsuna hadn't even known existed, "A real man doesn't let his wife (hey!) walk alone, especially when it's dangerous! Take better care of him!"

Xanxus bared his teeth, "You don't think I know that, scum? The dumb ass just loves to run off where I can't see him," his eyes were practically steaming and Tsuna squeaked. "Just go the fuck away you fucking nutcase," he practically commanded, looking down at the other as if he were a particularly annoying bug he wanted to squash but couldn't.

The man laughed loudly, to the point where it was almost obnoxious, "See ya Sawada — OHHH!" He stopped his odd jog in place to whirl around, "Kyoko extremely told me to tell you that you don't have to come by today! Paid day-off too because things are good she said!"

"E-eh? What's the occasion?" Because as much as he felt guilty for saying it, he really, really wanted to go down and help and just be….well away from home for a bit. J-just to clear his head!

The boxer pondered the question for a moment, "I extremely don't remember! I'll get it eventually. Practice extreme safe sex, Sawada!" Before a blushing Tsuna could continue denying that they were not like that and would not extremely practice safe sex, the man sped off. Jesus, Ryohei should have been in the Olympics the way he ran. Hell, he would win every single gold, that much the brunet was sure.

It took a moment for Tsuna to realize he was alone. With Xanxus. _With Xanxus._ The very, scary Doberman who he couldn't seem to get a read on now that the dog was human. Shit.

"Oi," Tsuna squeaked when a gravelly voice spoke right next to his ear. Apparently, the red-eyed man had no sense of space either as he was practically leaning onto the petite brunet. "Who the hell was that?" The tone was flat, but the underlying threat of pain was prevalent if the young man answered wrong.

"Ryohei-san is just—Eep!" He found himself getting whirled around, with Xanxus holding him possessively around the waist and being pulled flush against him.

"Just what?" he hissed, leaning till their faces were only a few inches apart.

And the funniest thing happened. Instead of feeling terrified as he inevitably should, little, timid Tsunayoshi began to grow irritated. "He's just a friend — like an overenthusiastic big brother!" the boy said carefully. It was probably a bad idea, but he ended up adding, "Why does it even matter who I talk to?" Why did this situation feel so familiar to him? They always said that your worst memories tend to pop up when you least expect them.

But thankfully, the Doberman stepped away, allowing the young student some breathing room. "Because you'd bring a rabid dog home with you if I wasn't watching, you fucking idiot," he sighed, almost exasperated, mostly angry. It was hard to tell the difference as the man seemed perpetually angry.

Tsuna puffed up in indignation, "I would not!" Xanxus snorted disbelievingly. "I mean it!"

"Whatever, dumb ass," he said, again with that exasperated angry tone. He looked around the lobby, seeing the numerous bags around the room. "Why the fuck did get so much shit?"

"Oh? Um…well it's for you guys!" he said, pulling up one of the bags and producing a few shirts. "You guys probably need a change of clothes and…well none of my clothes will fit." Ryohei had been giving him weird looks when he got clothes several sizes bigger, but he automatically seemed to think that because Tsuna would most surely join the boxing club, he would bulk up in no time. 'It's good to be prepared, Sawada!' He snapped out of his odd thoughts when he saw Xanxus pick up everything. Literally everything. And seeing as how there was enough food and clothes for eight people, that was a whole damn lot. "W-wait, what are you doing?"

He threw a few bags over his shoulder, looking over him as if he were stupid, "Carrying your shit, dumb ass."

"B-but-!" the petite boy protested.

"Do you think I'm weak like trash that can't carry shit?" he glowered.

Tsuna 'eeped' at the look, but being young and again — stupid, he pressed on, "But it's a lot and I want to help too…You're my —" Xanxus looked at him expectantly, ears perking up under his hat, "-my friend and guest." His ears deflated and he huffed. "So we should share the work together!"

The man ignored him, not even looking like he had heard the brunet's voice, "W-wait, please just let me-!"

Ugh, did his stupid owner really not get anything? Why did he choose to stick around such a weakling? He looked back, seeing the sweet little thing, look up at him with bright eyes. In particular, Xanxus' eyes zeroed in on the wrist with the odd bandage on it. He always came back from stupid school like that. Tsunayoshi was a stupid fucking idiot. But he was his stupid fucking idiot. "You've done enough, dumb ass, go make me a sandwich or something…" he muttered, turning away slightly red from being the center of attention of those pretty honeyed eyes.

When he tried to protest again, Xanxus snapped, "J-Just shut up and let me do it, shit head! Are you fucking deaf or something, dumb ass?" He sped off towards the elevator.

Xanxus flinched when Tsuna grabbed his arm, soft hands delicately holding it as if he were a precious gem and not a ragged dog. He dared to glance at the owner. He was still pouting — which fuck was so damn kawaii it should be illegal — but he had a more resigned air about him. "Next time —" bright eyes lit with an odd sort of resolution. God it was such a simple thing and yet he was being so damn stubborn… "Next time we'll do it together. I'm not…well, I'm weak but I want to help too, okay?"

Whatever resolve the Doberman had to say 'no' crumbled at the other's face. "Fine," he snapped angrily, turning away. He felt oddly giddy and he knew that if he stared any more he would probably be smiling like a fool. Him, smiling? Blasphemy.

But as much as he would deny it, when sweet little Tsunayoshi flashed his most beautiful smile at him, Xanxus could not hold back shy, small one of his own. But of course, Tsunayoshi himself didn't see it so whatever evidence you have against him is totally and utterly invalid.

Stop laughing, scum!

...

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><p>...<p>

Ryohei came running back home, pumped as ever. That Xanxus guy was superb. Strong to the extreme! Now if only he could persuade the man to join the boxing club…

"Idiot, you're late!" A dark-haired woman stood at the doorway, wearing her usual dark business attire and a terrifying scowl.

"Hana!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He ran at her, but she kicked him in the gut before he could hug her.

"Idiot, you're late! Don't you know what day it is today?" she growled and the boxer flinched.

But as a man, he would not let himself be cowed, "I extremely forgot!" Hana face palmed. But at the very least he had been honest with her. Painfully and stupidly honest, but finding a man as candid as Ryohei was a hard find.

"Ugh — you — it's my birthday, you dummy," she sighed. "Should have known you'd forget, always living to the extreme right?"

A look of dawning overtook the white-haired man's face. The woman couldn't help but break out into a grin. He just looked so…so stupid. Eyes bulging and mouth practically dropping to the floor. But then, he rummaged through the back of his pocket and pulled out a small black box. It was her turn to gape, "W-what?"

"Happy anniversary, Hana!" he exclaimed for all the world to hear as he pulled out a box with a most precious necklace inside. She had been subtly eyeing it for a while last time they shopped, liking it but finding it too expensive and refusing to buy it. How had the blockhead even known…?

"Birthday, you idiot!" she snapped without any venom. "But I love it, you big idiot — come here," she said, smiling as stupidly as her husband before her. "Dinner's ready and Kyoko brought cake." She put her arm around his and he was all smiles.

"Cake to the extreme!" he yelled and Hana was all but willing to indulge him but…

Her eyes caught the blood hand raised into the air. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. For the love of… "Ryohei…you weren't out recruiting were you?"

His eyes snapped to her, lit with a flame she knew all too well, "Sawada's boyfriend needs to join the boxing club to the extreme!" And he dragged her to the dining room without another word. Boyfriend…?

It only finally dawned on Hana on what her husband had said when they sat down to eat. "Boyfriend?!"

Back at the apartment, Tsuna sneezed.

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><p><strong>..<strong>

**A/N: Originally, Enma was supposed to take Xanxan's place but things happened so meh. Don't worry everybody will get their individual tuna time. I might put up a poll (GASPING) for stuff. **

**Just because I'm an ass: **

**Continue? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I tried. And failed. Sorry in advance to 10027 fans. I butchered your pairing. But I tried to plow through in the best way I could think of. WHY IS BYAKURAN SO HARD TO WRITE ALL OF A SUDDEN. Jeez. And this is pretty short. I apologize.**

**Disclaimer: Akira Amano = KHR owner, not me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"We're home!" Tsuna called out of habit. He pulled off his shoes, waiting patiently for Xanxus to do the same so they could walk to the kitchen together. Without much prompting the Doberman dropped the bags as soon as he got through the door and, without a word, sped into the guest bedroom in a way that could almost be described as flustered. "X-Xanxus, d-don't you want dinner?" he called out nervously, wanting to follow but somewhat terrified of what the other would do if he was annoyed.

"Not hungry. Don't you dare fucking wake me up," he said threateningly, before disappearing behind the door. S-scary… But then again, Tsuna had supposed he shouldn't be so surprised if he could take on from past experiences with these guys. The Doberman had always loved his naps and loved taking them whenever it seemed to be most inconvenient for the poor owner.

Walking in, he found that his apartment was strangely quiet. "Guys? Where are you?" he called, wandering into the living room to fall upon an odd little scene. It seemed their stamina had dropped with them becoming human, as the guys weren't running about and…well…generally making a mess.

They were all asleep, no doubt tuckered out from whatever playing — or more like fighting now that Tsuna thought about it — during most of the day. It was almost 5:00 and getting dark…Ryohei distracting took way too long. He told himself no matter how awkward, he wouldn't do it again. The poor guys at home were all alone after all.

He sighed smiling at the adorable scene they made, all sleeping together like that. Gokudera had fallen asleep curled up on his desk, Tsuna's textbooks set in a neat stack while one in particular — his history book — was open underneath the sleeping Kai Ken and serving as a pillow. Yamamoto was sprawled on the couch, a tennis ball held tightly to his chest and his tie was left on the ground. His ears occasionally twitching as he snored quietly. Enma was curled up on the floor, clinging to one of the sofa cushions and ears flattened against his head, nearly disappearing in messy red hair. Mukuro was sitting at the chair next to the sofa, leaning against his hand, his head wobbling ever so precariously, with his patchwork ears fluttering up ever so often when Tsuna came close. Hibari and Byakuran were nowhere to be seen, but he supposed they would come back at one point. So quietly, Tsuna went into his own room and pulled out a few spare blankets to cover his sleeping friends and set to work.

He felt guilty, leaving them all alone for so long. So he stood up and pulled in the groceries and sifted through the old recipe book his mother gave to him so very long ago. Italian, Japanese…a few originals he and his mother made together during…better times. He tilted his head, lazily flicking through a few and settling on a few vegetarian dishes for the sake of the rabbits, who he assumed may still be herbivores. Seven men. God how was he going to do this?

Only Tsuna would have such rotten luck. "I wonder if I should have bought that good luck charm yesterday after all…" he sighed, remembering the old woman he had passed with the suspicious looking tarot cards. She was a little odd and seemed homeless, so the boy offered a few coins and to take her out to lunch. She graciously refused and offered to read him his fortune and to sell a good luck charm (super cheap!) — as she said his life would soon be filled with much strife.

He hadn't believed her at the moment, thought little of it and simply assumed the woman wanted to reel him in as a regular fortune telling customer like so many other idiots she roped in to the deal.

Tsuna was pretty sure at least that type of naivety was beat out of him quite a while ago. Fortune telling…horoscopes, good luck charms, the magic of such things tended to wear off when you're old. But it seemed the woman was right. Seven men in his apartment. "What am I going to do with you guys?" he sighed before nearly screaming when he felt an arm wrap around his waist.

"Give us hugs?" Byakuran said, smushing his face into the other's hair. "So soft…like a birdie!" he practically squealed, holding the flustered brunet even tighter to his chest.

"B-Byakuran!" he yelped, before quickly lowering his voice again upon hearing the pets shift. Peeking through the living room door, Tsuna saw Mukuro stir a bit and Yamamoto sneeze. "Byakuran, don't scare me like that!" he whispered. "Everyone's still sleeping," and he gesturing the to the numerous sleepers in the room.

As if just realizing they were there, the angora opened his mouth in a perfect 'o', "You're absolutely right, Tsu-chan!" he said, putting a finger over the young owner's lips as if he had been the one making the commotion.

Prying away the offending finger, Tsuna went back to cooking — or more like staring at the pot and hoping that the pasta would cook faster. Byakuran was friendly enough, but there was just something — off about the other that he couldn't quite put his finger on… "U-um, so uh…how was your day?" he asked lamely, feeling keenly the odd silence that settled between them.

The rabbit man swung around, jumping up to sit on the counter and twirling a bag of marshmallows in his hands. "It's going wonderfully now that you're here," he said, humming an odd tune as he pulled out one fluffy treat and proceeded to flip it around his hand. Tsuna blushed a bit, but it died down quickly enough. Byakuran had been a rabbit after all, of course he would be happy his food bringer had arrived.

"U-um, we're uh…I'm cooking right now. So um…is there anything you want to request?" he asked. A part of him regretted asking after seeing the eerie glint in the other's face.

He tilted his head, those puffy white ears twitching in thought, "Marshmallows." Tsuna released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Something about the look on his face…or maybe that was just him being dirty. Ugh.

He pushed away the marshmallow bag being waved in front of his face. "You..you can't have marshmallows for dinner," he said firmly, turning back to the stove. He had tensed and prepared for himself for an ensuing argument against such but he was surprised when he heard the rabbit simply threw away the marshmallows. As in literally dump the whole bag into the trash. "E-eh? Byakuran why-?"

"It tasted bad anyways. So what's for dinner, Tsu-chan, if it isn't marshmallows?" he asked, wrapping an arm around the young brunet again and turning them both away from the subject and to the food cooking on the stove. "Eh? What's this?"

"Please don't touch that—It's-! O-oi, it's hot don't touch — I mean it!" he snapped, swatting the angora's touchy, touchy hands away from the pork cutlets he had made.

"Eh, but Tsu-chan, why did you make the meat stuffs for dinner?" the man complained, hovering over him again. God, was the man a leech of some kind? The rabbit just wouldn't stop clinging onto him, always having to touch him in one way or another. He had always assumed the angora had not been one of the touchy types by the way he seemed to shy away from others and never bothered to jump to him when he wanted to pet him. God, was Tsuna so, so wrong.

Still trying to pry the hand that was clamped on his hip, he protested, "W-well, the others — aside from Mukuro — eat meat right? So…um…yeah, I'm preparing it for them. I have pasta for you guys," he elaborated, pointing to the pot.

"Italian?" the man said suddenly, then deciding that it would be fun to completely lean onto the slim brunet's frame. "I thought Tsu-chan disliked Italian things."

"E-eh? Wh-where did you get that idea?" It's not like he ever said such a thing out loud at home. W-wait a second…but what about all the stuff he did at home? Oh god he took baths with these guys… granted they were pets at the time but if they remembered it-! His face flushed into a deep red and Byakuran's cheshire cat grin (funny how a rabbit looks more like a cat when he smiles) grew wide.

"Ara? You look like a cute little strawberry, Tsu-chan~! I could just eat you right up!" And he leaned in and rubbed their noses together, squealing as a schoolgirl might upon finding a rather cute animal of some shape or form on her way home. That…that was a disturbing image — Byakuran actually pretending to be a schoolgirl. Ignoring the slowly increasing 'hieee' and the tiny fists delicately pounding his chest, Byakuran explained, "Silly Tsu-chan you have an Italian cookbook under your bed. You never use it and it's so…dusty~. It's quite comfortable to nap on actually."

Oh yeah, he did get that as a present a very long time ago when he told his mother he liked her cooking. She passed that onto him. Who she had gotten as a gift once from Papa after one of his…enterprises. It was a present of mixed blessings. And now that Mama was gone, he found no reason to keep it around in plain sight. "It was pretty fun to chew up too, if you don't mind me doing so." Hell, Byakuran didn't even sound like he would be sorry if Tsuna did, in fact, mind.

"I just…Y-you guys just kind of remind of some…uh…people I used to know. I…I was going to make something else but it just ended up becoming this and I had to go through with it," he said, the nostalgic smile on his face growing rather tight.

The hold around his waist tightened and another hand poked his cheek playfully, "Don't make that kind of face, you'll get wrinkles all over," he said. "Ne, let's make a cake Tsu-chan!"

"E-eh? Why? I haven't even finished dinner yet!" But the angora persisted.

"But all you're doing is staring at the pot, so let's make a cake!" he said, giving him the puppy eyes. It probably would have worked if Tsuna had been unused to them. Besides, no one and he repeats, no one could ever beat his older brother at that face. If he could resist Giotto then he could resist this hands down.

"Please?" He was not going to give in. Nope. Cake? Now? Ridiculous. Absolutely not. Byakuran was tugging insistently, still staring at him and whining. "Pretty, pretty please Tsu-chan?" Why did he want one so badly anyway? Couldn't it wait? Ugh. He was not giving in. He was not going to be the pushover this time!

"…Fine." Damn that face. And okay, so he rejected his elder brother around…2% of the time b-but that still counted for something! Right? …Ugh, never mind. He had tried. He really did. But let's just say that Tsuna, while he can have his stubborn moments, for the most part is a mushy, pushover of a piece of tuna. Sounds accurate.

"Yay~!" Byakuran cheered, immediately pulling open the fridge and pulling out bake mix and marshmallows (why is he not surprised?), and assorted icings and whipped cream. Why does it feel like he fell into a trap of some kind? "I'll cut the strawberries, Tuna-chan~!"

"Um…o-okay…?" He was lost. Utterly and entirely lost as to how this was going to go. But he supposed the rabbit's words did have some truth in them and he did have to wait for quite a bit to get the food exactly right. What's a little multi-tasking going to do to him?

He should really stop asking questions like that.

As Tsuna mixed the batter, the brunet literally had to run about between a hot stove and a probably-borderline-psychotic angora that seemed to think that cutting strawberries was to gnash them up and slice them in such a way that it felt as if he were torturing someone. The eerie smile and little giggles did — by no means — diminish this fact. Who knew that rabbits could be so…sadistic? Oh and manipulative. And cunning. Oh so very cunning. But then again, he probably should have also seen this coming thinking back to how the rabbit always managed to secure a bag of marshmallows despite him not buying nearly as much as the angora consumed.

"Tsu-chan, Tsu-chan, is that what the pot is supposed to do when it burns?" the rabbit asked, as the young brunet was caught up in his thoughts. Well shit.

"G-gah! N-no, no, no, ahhhh, please don't burn!" he wailed fruitlessly to the pot as it began to boil over while the angora simply laughed in the background when he saw the young man pout and skulk over the mess.

…

…

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><p>…<p>

"Hmm, Byakuran?" The angora's ears perked up.

"Yes, Tsu-Tsu?"

The brunet put down the bowl he was mixing and said flatly, "Never call me that ever again." Tsunayoshi gathered pretty quickly after the strawberry massacre was that if he didn't speak firmly to the rabbit then he wouldn't listen. A lot like how dogs don't listen if your voice wavers or you're wailing.

Funny how the rabbit acted more like the carnivores of the house rather than the sweet little rabbit he thought he had adopted.

Those white little ears twitched and fell downwards as he pouted. "But I wanna call you Tsu-Tsu!" Seeing the stonewall of a face the young owner was making, he sighed dramatically and gestured for the other to continue.

Tsuna, idly mixing the bowl, asked the million-dollar question, "How did you guys end up like this?"

The rabbit hummed for a bit, contemplating the answer as he toyed with a marshmallow in between his fingers, "It's hard to say, Tsu-chan. But if I really had to explain to you, I'd say it's because we were granted our wish from the angel through the window. Or the witch. I never could tell the difference."

Seriously? Then again, the angel thing made as much sense as turning from animal to human so he was willing to suspend his disbelief. "O-oh…so you wished to become human?" he asked.

The white-haired man just smiled again and practically sang, "Wrong~!" He wagged a finger at Tsuna, as if he were some naughty child caught asking too many questions. "I can't answer that, Tsu-chan, but let's just say it had less to do with humanity and more to do with the intangible."

The young ex-pet owner wrinkled his nose, absently filling the icing piping up and not really paying attention to the fact that. "That's not a very good clue. What is all that supposed to mean anyway?" he muttered, more to himself than anything.

Byakuran couldn't help but squee inwardly at the little look of concentration on little Tsunayoshi's face. The tip of his tongue stuck out in the cutest way as he tried to ice the cake. As much as he liked mooching off of Tsunayoshi's cooking skills in the past, he hadn't really felt like sharing it. If you knew what he meant. The brunet was so absorbed in the task that surely he wouldn't notice what Byakuran was doing…

"I'm almost done…" he said, just about to finish the edges when the angora, feigning ignorance, pulled at the icing.

"I wanna try, Tsu-chan!" he said playfully tugging at the piping.

Surprised, the brunet tried to warn him, "Ah, Byakuran don't pull on that, you'll-!" Too late. Byakuran squeezed it hard enough for it to splatter all over them, in their hair, on their face and on their clothes.

"Ara, look at the mess~!" he said in mock shame, leaning in to swipe at the smaller male's lower lip and taking delight in licking the icing off of his finger. "It's good though, ne, Tsu-chan?" And cute, little Tsunayoshi turned into that delicious strawberry pink color that he loved so well.

"B-b-…Hieee! What do you think you're doing?" he shrieked, pushing the angora away. He turned around and out of desperate desire to create some space, took a huge slop of the icing leftover in the bowl and threw it at the rabbit.

It was amazing how well it blended with his hair. And his shirt. And well, covered up most of his face. Ah...that was not the plan.

On the other side of the spectrum, the little brunet was panicking. Ah shit, Tsuna's really done it now hasn't he? The rabbit slowly wiped off the white cream that coated his face, staring in fascination as it fell from his hand and plopped onto the ground.

Uh..um…I..er…" he stuttered, trying to find a way to explain and apologize and yet also wanting to scold and be indignant about it. "Sorry?"

The rabbit didn't respond immediately, only looking down upon the ground for a second.. Then without looking up, "Sorry isn't going to cut it, Tsuna." He flinched at the harsh tone in the angora's voice — such a sharp contrast. For a second, he feared that he had made the rabbit truly angry.

Until the man looked up and started laughing his head off. He kicked the icing tube up into the air, grabbing it and brandishing it as a weapon. "Icing fight!" the childish man yelled, shooting the young brunet with the icing.

"S-Stop it! Hieee, take this!" Tsuna said back, before grabbing the bowl as a shield while simultaneously using the whisk to fling whatever remained in the bowl to retaliate. Soon enough they were running about in the small space of his kitchen, making an even bigger mess than before. Which Tsuna would inevitably have to clean up.

But…this was nice he supposed. Even if it was childish, and petty, it was fun. A lot more fun than anything he'd had in a long time. He supposed…acting like a child wasn't always a bad thing.

"I got you now, Tsu-chan~!" Byakuran said, charging at the young brunet — having run out of icing — and wrapping his arms around his waist.

"O-oi! Get off, you jerk!" he said, obviously without any real malice as he attempted to dump the remaining contents of the bowl onto the man before being forced to drop it as he was picked up off the ground. "B-Byakuran!" he yelped, and clung onto the man, "P-put me down-! Hieee! Don't start spinning!" he wailed as the rabbit did the complete opposite of what he said and began spinning around uncontrollably on the slippery, icing-covered floor.

"Never!" he laughed, nuzzling into the owner's chest and relishing in the warmth the young brunet exuded. There was a soft whine and then a sigh as the brunet seemed to resign to the fact that Byakuran wouldn't be letting him down anytime soon. Instead, the angora rabbit watched that shy little smile grow slowly that made his legs feel all wobbly. He eventually allowed the spinning to gradually dwindle down to a slow little circle. If he had his way he would have held little Tsunayoshi like that forever. But as these feeble human appendages called arms were unable to do so, he was forced to place the darling young man onto the ground again, although he had yet to relinquish the hold around the other's waist.

Tsuna, on the other hand, didn't really mind the grip. He was already really, really dizzy from the spinning and perhaps the smell of icing was beginning to give him a headache. He felt a bit nauseous but his heart felt a bit lighter. While it wasn't exactly the cleanest, he supposed throwing icing did help relieve a bit of his own stress. "Thank god," he sighed, putting a hand over his heart to slow it down. "I seriously thought I was going to puke." Then he pouted at the mess, "Look at this place. God, it's going to be such a pain to clean up," he sighed, biting his lip and thinking of all the hours wasted on mopping the floors, and the fridge, and literally dry cleaning the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Tsu-chan I'll clean it up," the man said absently as he snuggled into his hair again.

"Sure you will," the young man sighed, as he pulled away to pick up the bowl and whisk that lay largely forgotten on the floor.

"Hmph, I meant it! I'll even send for my little devils to pick up the pieces for me," he added, still following the young brunet as he checked on all the other food that hung over the stove.

"Y-your little devils?" he echoed, as he set out the plates. Why did it sound like the man had some sort of rabbit gang hanging around the area? ...Oh god he didn't really have one did he?

"Yep, where do you think I get all the marshmallows, darling?" he said. Darling? Byakuran really was just trying to run through every name he could think of.

"Okay then, uh...can you let go of me now? I need to set out dinner for - wait how is everyone still asleep?" Tsunayoshi suddenly remembered all the animals sleeping in the kitchen. Dinner was done and with all the noise they had been making in the kitchen.

"Well, I don't know, Tsu-chan, perhaps they're just really tired?" Byakuran said, as innocently as possible. No dice. Tsuna, even having the good sense of a brick could see something was wrong and shoved the rabbit off of him.

"Wait a second…" he trailed off, marching out of the kitchen and peeking into the living room where everyone seemed dead to the world.

Okay, there was absolutely no way they could have slept through that. They were so…noisy! And yet they were practically fine! He remembered quite clearly at the very least that Mukuro was a light sleeper, same as Gokudera. Yamamoto and Enma he could see as sleeping in but not the other two. He wandered over, shaking Gokudera as hard as he could and then moving on to rustle the others up. Not a single twitch.

"What are you doing, Tsu-chan?" said the devious rabbit, peering over his shoulder when he tried to wake up Mukuro.

Tsuna whirled around and poked him in harshly in the chest, "What did you do?" he snapped, gesturing to the rest.

Still unconcerned, he looked at the assorted men sleeping around the room, "I have no idea what you're talking about Tsu-chan." The guilty twitches on those ears said otherwise.

"Byakuran…" he said warningly.

The white rabbit shrugged. "So I might have…'accidentally' slipped a little sleepy dust in their drinks."

"Ugh, Byakuran, why?" the brunet cried, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

He smiled and pouted. Don't ask how that was possible, but it was. "I just wanted some time with my Tsu-Tsu!" he said, hanging off of the irritated Tsunayoshi's arm.

Tsuna facepalmed.

...

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><p>….<p>

"Ugh, stupid fucking rabbit…" Gokudera grumbled, slightly subdued due to the fact that he had been drugged and asleep for the past few hours.

"Well it really melted the day away didn't it? At least you can't say you're bored anymore," Yamamoto added cheerfully, ever looking upon the bright side.

Mukuro and Enma didn't say much, the former wearing a very stretched smile and stabbing his pasta very angrily whilst the latter just toyed with his food absently. Was it not good…? And the boredom part, boy did he feel guilty about that.

The instant that Tsunayoshi finally got them to get up, Byakuran had mysteriously disappeared. Xanxus hadn't even bothered to get up, even when Tsuna prompted him to. He just left the food at the door and went, wondering if perhaps he had done something wrong. Or perhaps it was just Xanxus being Xanxus the dog - sleeping whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted. (Unbeknownst to Tsunayoshi, the man really was napping, and ...slightly embarrassed about going soft on his stupid owner).

He couldn't help but worry as to where the white rabbit and chartreux cat disappeared to. Even if Byakuran had been out of line, he still worried where he had gone - although part of that concern was for possible victims outside that may have been subject to the mischievous rabbit's tricks.

So joining him at the table tonight were Mukuro, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Enma. Hibari had still not returned from whatever he was doing and Tsuna wondered where in the world he could be. Hopefully he hadn't gotten into any trouble… Ah who was he kidding? They were all going to get into enough trouble to run him out of his apartment.

"The food is amazing, tenth. No one can cook like you!" the Kai Ken exclaimed, after finally eating and not cursing a certain angora's name to oblivion.

The Shiba Inu nodded along food completely full and sauce dotting the corners of his mouth. He ended up leaning forward, cleaning up the dark-haired man himself. "Don't talk with your mouth full, you could choke you know," he scolded gently, sighing when his face was finally clean. For some odd reason, Yamamoto looked really pink...he wasn't getting sick was he?

It disappeared the moment he let go of the dog's face, "Tsuna, you're the best!" he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The Kai Ken beside him was steaming. "Stop taking my words, tennis ball idiot!" Gokudera snarled.

"So much barking from the stupid doggy...it's giving me a headache," Mukuro sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation.

Enma crouched in on himself as Gokudera leaned forward across the table, slamming his fist in front of the pineapple-headed man. "Then I hope your head explodes, stupid pineapple!"

The golden dog tried to stop his silver-haired friend, "Maa, maa, why can't we all be nice and enjoy the food, right Tsuna?"

"I can't enjoy the tenth's food when that bastard is perving on the the tenth right there!" he exclaimed, seething when the harlequin rabbit scooted a bit closer to his beloved owner.

"As if you wouldn't take advantage of innocent little Tsunayoshi - perverted, hypocrite dog," the rabbit sneered. The Kai Ken's eyes flared, his ears rising up as he growled at the rabbit. For a second, Tsuna legitimately thought he was going to bark at the other.

"Why you stupid-!" Yamamoto had to hold back the angry silver-haired man as he attempted to strangle the harlequin rabbit, who was looking rather smug with his hands crossed against his chest and leaning back against his chair.

"Guys...can you not do this at dinner - and no one's listening to me," Tsuna sighed, as they continued to argue and throw veiled barbs at each other. He hoped things wouldn't be so crazy all the time; he was already exhausted from just one day of having them around.

But it wasn't like he had a choice. He was by no means kicking any of them out. No... he'd just have to swallow a bit of his pride and be willing enough to tap into his backup funds. Maybe work an extra job. He could make this work. He could.

It was the most he could do for his...his friends who had supported him throughout the years. Whether they were animals or humans, he was going to protect and care for them as he always had.

…

Whistling, the angora played with the yo-yo his little devils had found earlier, finding it greatly amusing. He had always been rather...immobile in that ridiculously fluffy form from before unable to do much. Of course it had its purposes...That was a dark time he'd rather forget.

At least the toy would help curb the boredom when Tsunayoshi was not around. School seemed to be such a bore. And he couldn't help but wonder why the brunet kept going if the place always made him appear so...tired. Watching the other make cake with him just a few hours before made him realize how diminished the boy was from school.

It wasn't until he had bothered the other that the sweet little sparkle in Tsunayoshi's eyes which usually appeared exclusively for mornings returned. He had always assumed that it was normal (although he didn't much like it).

"What a weirdo…"

"Don't get involved, he might be into some creepy stuff."

"Ah! He's looking this way, don't meet his eyes!"

Several people whispered and made room as the odd man with white hair and unnerving eyes of violet traipsed through the streets. The suspicious looking black hoodie made them all wonder whether he was part of some gang. Which Byakuran supposed was somewhat true.

How rude though. Humans. They were all so awful. With the exception of his darling little owner of course. He was the only one worth his attention here. Everyone else - even the other animals - could go disappear for all he cared.

He pulled his hoodie down further over his head. The woman had stressed about not showing their ears. After all, normal humans didn't have them and surely such things would only result in unfavorable consequences for both him and Tsunayoshi.

It was rather late (at least by human standards) when he returned. All the lights were out and the windows had all nearly been closed except for the one that Tsunayoshi had always left open for him and the silly aloof cat.

The sofa, leather chair, and table had been set to the side while several futons had been set out. On the floor lay Tsunayoshi, stuffed in-between the two dogs, the scaredy cat sleeping with his back to them on the happy dog's side. The black cat had fallen asleep on the leather chair, leaning against the armrest and the grey dog, seeming to have left his room, was asleep on the couch. The stupid pineapple was sitting on the desk, sleeping soundly with his head on the table.

It was a little surprising that their motley group managed not to kill each other over the sleeping arrangements. In fact, they all looked rather peaceful.

Byakuran was rather tempted to make as much noise as possible. If just to get things moving and interesting again. But as Tsunayoshi was here and seeing him sleep was rather endearing, he decided against such. He didn't much like the idea of sleeping like a dog on the floor or being in the same room with half of these people, so he let himself be content with just kneeling down, caressing the sleeping brunet's face.

So utterly serene. Not a single trace of the tired young man the white rabbit would see when he thought no one was looking. He leaned forward, the tiniest little peck wouldn't hurt now would it…?

Tempting. Tempting.

He ended up stopping himself, changing his course so as to kiss the young man on the forehead. "Goodnight Tsunayoshi."

He froze when the young man stirred. His lips parted slightly and a soft 'goodnight' slipped out. The boy then mumbled again and turned onto his side to face the normally loud dog beside him. Byakuran couldn't hold back a soft chuckle. Even in his sleep, Tsunayoshi always seemed to surprise him.

With another chaste kiss to the boy's head, he walked off to fall back onto the bed in the guest room. He ended up pulling out the little baggy of marshmallows Kikyo had given him, lazily throwing it back and forth. He opened it, popping one in his mouth and chewing before subsequently spitting it out. Ah well...one couldn't have everything without a bit of sacrifice right?

A pity. It had been a personal sin of his to indulge in such things. But...remembering little Tsunayoshi's sweet little smile, he supposed the rewards were far greater than the losses.

It's not like he was as handicapped as the others.

"Lucky me. Fate must like me better than the others," he said to himself, throwing the bag into the waste bin. It was a rather unpleasant price, but he could endure. He would win this game and no one was going to get in his way.

Tsunayoshi was his after all. And he wasn't much for sharing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I wanna see if anyone can guess what happened to everyone else. Kufufufufufu... I also have one thing to say about the cake thing. I have a feeling that it would not be possible for Tsuna to be alone with Byakuran unless he did something to everyone else. Because ain't nobody trust fox face marshmallow man. He's like threat #1. Just cause. **

**Because I feel like its become a thing: Continue? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Takes 5000 years to update. Sorry about that. I was like, let's get this out by Christmas. Then Christmas happened. Then I was like get this out by New Years'. And then New Years' happened. Sorry yo. And I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter. Like some parts I like and some parts I had to force myself to write for the sake of continuity. FORGIVE ME SENPAIS. Also, this chapter is so damn long. Like damn. **

**Warnings: OOC-ness, Cheese, and un-betaed. Probably grammar mistakes I missed too. Do tell me if you see any. Much appreciate. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Tsunayoshi stood in front of them all, his arms crossed as he stood in front of the sofa and tapping his foot threateningly at the seven pets who wore - more or less - guilty looks on their faces. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing in frustration at the the thought of all the mopping and laundry he'd have in store for himself on a _Saturday_ when he had to work of all days.

Imagine how pleasant it had been to wake up and find a clean kitchen, only to leave for fifteen minutes of cleaning up to see that the entire place had gone to food hell. Blender in the trash and still whirring, peanut butter and jelly splattered on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and seven fully grown men continuing to add to the initial mess.

Needless to say that Tsuna was not a happy man.

"...I think, that we need to set some ground rules, okay?" He looked pointedly at Byakuran, who gave a noncommittal shrug. Tsuna continued, "First of all, no food fights, I don't care if you're fighting, just don't do it at the dinner table and not with food. Ever. Again."

He cleared his throat, gathering their attention. "Second, no trying to peek into the bathroom or trying to join me when I'm in the bathroom - I'm looking at you, Mukuro." he warned. The lilac rabbit just whistled innocently while Gokudera looked ready to explode.

"Bastard, what the fuck have you been doing?" The Kai Ken, who Tsuna made sure to seat on the other side of the living room, was currently crushing the seat's armrests. ...Was he going to have to replace that too?

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dog. Kufufu…" Like that wasn't totally suspicious. And yes, the rabbit had been sneaking into his bathroom while he was showering. Although a part of Tsuna wondered if he really was wandering in on accident. "It's not like I've ever had a chance to see anything, much less do anything." Or maybe not.

"Bastard-!"

Yamamoto had to hold back the agitated Kai Ken, smiling in embarrassment - like he was apologizing - and gesturing for Tsuna to continue.

The last part he knew wouldn't go very well, but...well he had to set something up. "And third, I'm giving you all a mandatory curfew at 11:00 PM -"

Hibari slammed his tonfa harshly on to the couch to get his attention. Those eyes quite clearly said that he was not pleased one bit. If he didn't phrase his next words carefully he was pretty sure he would be feeling that tonfa against his skull. "Unless you tell me where you're going and when you'll be back. That goes for any time you guys go out."

"Mmm, why?" Byakuran whined, slouching on the couch. "I don't wanna!"

A vein twitched in Tsuna's forehead. "Because-! Ugh, because I don't want you running around doing anything crazy and - and…!" They all stared at him, unimpressed.

"Says the trash who can't tell the difference between dogs and rabid trash," Xanxus snorted.

"That was only once!" Tsuna protested.

"We can take care of ourselves, Tsuna, don't worry about us," Yamamoto reassured, all while holding a snarling Gokudera away from a snickering Mukuro. "If anything, it's us who should be protecting you, right?"

He suddenly felt himself very small. Yeah...yeah he wasn't that strong. And they had a point but… He looked down on the ground. "I just...I don't want to see you guys get hurt. I-if you're not careful out there you might…" he trailed off, curling his hands into fists feeling like an idiot before looking up. "So just...just please follow them. For me?"

Mukuro gave a long-suffering sigh, eyes going past his head and staring dully at the wall, "Very well, Tsunayoshi."

"Hmph, if Tsu-chan wants it then I suppose I can leave a note here and there," Byakuran said, swinging his legs back and forth like a child.

Xanxus just huffed, rolling his eyes and walking out of the room. Hibari narrowed his eyes at him, then turned away in annoyance. Gokudera, on the other hand, "Don't worry tenth, I'll be sure to keep them all in line!" the man saluted him, his dog tail wagging happily behind him. That was his Kai Ken alright…

"Don't worry, we'll be good, Tsuna!" Yamamoto beamed at him while Enma, being ever so quiet, nodded shyly before curling up into a ball again. It slightly worried him that his ginger tabby was so quiet. He hoped the poor kitten hadn't been bullied by all the other, more aggressive pets in the house.

"Um...okay then, so uh...I left lunch in the fridge okay? I have to go to work now. I won't be back till 5, so be careful!"

"Eh? But tenth, I thought you only had work Tuesdays through Fridays from 2 PM to 6 PM!" Gokudera recited.

Everyone looked at the silver-haired man oddly. "Fufufu, such a hypocrite, calling me creepy when you're the one who memorized Tsunayoshi's schedule."

"I'm going to have to agree with Muku-chan on this one, Goku-chan. So creepy~!" Byakuran practically sang. As if he had any say about what was creepy and what was not.. .

The black dog's ears straightened and the man growled, "Shut up! I'm just worried about tenth!" He turned his bright green eyes on the little brunet. "Don't overwork yourself, tenth! I heard on the TV that you can get hurt if you're tired!"

"O-oh? Don't worry, Gokudera, it's just a one-time thing…" he said, waving his hand in what he hoped to be a placating manner. It was hard to tell what he was supposed to do around his pets as they acted like animals at times and then people another. It was...weird. And he didn't want to exactly tell them that he was doing double the jobs. No need to make them upset over someone like him.

"Gokudera's right, are you sure about that?" Yamamoto asked, his carefree eyes suddenly sharpening to something a bit more serious. "I promise I'll help, I'll-"

"No! No, you're my guests - no, my friends! It's the least I could do! You've stayed by my side for so long, stayed with someone like me and I...that's enough payment for me."

"Tenth…" Gokudera's eyes softened and before anyone could do anything, the Kai Ken came up and swept into a gentle embrace. "Please don't say such things, tenth! You're the greatest, how could you ever think otherwise?!" The hug tightened, but it wasn't really bad. It was...nice.

"G-Gokudera…? I...um...I…" He found himself turning redder by the minute the longer the silver-haired man held him. Soon enough though, Yamamoto found it fit to join in.

"You're the best Tsuna! Of course we'll take care of you!" Yamamoto added, hugging from behind. Surely enough, joining him was Enma who gingerly put his arms around the lot.

"Tsuna...we'll help you, I promise…" he whispered. Enma had said it so quietly that even Tsuna, whose ear was right next to the redhead's lips, had a hard time hearing him.

Byakuran, thinking it was fun jumped in. "I want to group hug too!"

"Oof, fuck get your damn hands off, rabbit!"

"Aw, the more the merrier, right Enma?"

"..."

Mukuro came over, nor really hugging actually just...staring at them blankly. "How cute. It almost makes me want to puke." Without a single warning, the man shoved Gokudera hard on the shoulder and soon enough, the whole lot of them fell over onto the floor, squishing poor Yamamoto in the process.

"Gah...you guys are really heavy…" the Shiba Inu groaned, struggling to keep his usual laid back smile intact. Enma apologized softly while Gokudera let out a string of curses.

"Fucking bastard! Do you wanna fight-?! Shit!" In his attempt to get up, the Kai Ken got entangled in Byakuran's leg and tripped.

Mukuro just smiled eerily at the lot. Just goes to show that Tsunayoshi's suspicions about rabbits being secretly evil were true. "Hmm? Did you hear something Tsunayoshi? It sounded like a little mouse squeaking on the floor."

"Bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Mukuro didn't pay much heed to the threat, just walking off without so much as a care. Hibari let out a silent huff and glared disdainfully at them all before walking off without so much as a goodbye. That was his chartreux alright, as aloof as ever.

"Haha, look at the doggy Tsu-chan! Isn't he funny?" the angora pointed, clinging to his arm.

"What did you say, marshmallow bastard?"

"Maa, maa, no need to be upset, Tsuna's here, let's all be friends!"

"Shut up, baseball idiot!"

...Tsuna was going to be late to work wasn't he? His eyes darted to the clock. Yep. He was going to be late. This would not look good on his salary.

…

* * *

><p>…<p>

It was an easy job. The supermarket was relatively peaceful and the manager was a kindly old man that he was somewhat kind of friends with. He'd always went to this store and shopped and they'd somehow become friends of sorts. So when Tsunayoshi came up late to his first day on the job, the old man simply waved it off, patting him on the shoulder and telling him to get to work.

God, he had never been so grateful. The pay was surprisingly good here and it would be enough to make ends meet for now. He might have to get a third job but maybe not one so strenuous as playing secretary or something. Jesus he'd tried interning once and with the hell it made of his life...he shuddered to think of what it'd be like to do that for a living.

"Oi, Sawada-san, mind piling up these cans up over there?"

"Oh, sure!" He picked up the box of cans from his boss, Mr. Yamashiro. He was a nice man, always so helpful and forgiving. He was getting a little old though, anyone could see that in the tired way he carried himself and the telltale grey streaks running through his hair. It couldn't help but make him worry.

Speaking of worrying… "Heya hot stuff!" Tsuna paid no mind to the wolf whistles directed his way when he bent down to pick up the stool. Those guys seemed to have nothing better to do but stare at him. He had half a mind to tell them off but he had already given his boss enough trouble. And it had only been his first day at that.

If anything, the grocery store was like the complete opposite of school. Whereas everyone seemed to either beat him up or ignore him (the latter was preferable), everyone here seemed to want to...uh… Another wolf whistle came his way and Tsuna flinched, turning around he saw a middle-aged man smiling and waving at him. He turned around and walked as quickly as he could back to the breakroom. "What is wrong with everyone here?" he cried to himself, sinking into an empty chair and putting his head down the table. Was this like hazing or something? Like harass the new employee or something?

"Tired already of everyone wanting to jump your bones?" His head snapped off of the table.

"I-It's not funny, Hirakawa-san!"

The woman laughed, "Are you kidding me? It's hilarious!" She took a piece of her hair, balancing it on her upper lip and grabbed the hapless brunet by the arm. "Heya toots, wanna get frisky with me on a hot night on the town?" What's worse is that she actually sounded like one of the guys from earlier who tried to hit on him.

"Cut it out!" he wailed, swatting her hands away. "I mean it, it's really, really scary…" He dropped his head back down onto the table. "Everyone's acting funny…"

Hirakawa Umeko dropped down into the seat next to him, slapping him heartily on the back. "C'mon! That's what people do when they see a pretty face. All logic drops and everyone's punching and scratching to get a good whiff of you." She stopped, tilting her head. "Or taste of you. I don't know how perverts' minds work."

The young student looked at her skeptically, "...And this is supposed to make me feel better how?"

"Oh well...it makes me feel better. So does me feeling better make you feel better?" Tsuna slammed his head down on the table again. "So is that a 'no' or…?" The young man groaned. "Okay, so it's a no...But cheer up, least you don't have to deal with them during the night shift." Seeing as how he didn't respond, she decided to continue speaking. "I remember when I used to work the night shift. Ugh, there was this total creep that kept checking me out and making passes. Eventually he just went into the restroom, didn't come out for thirty minutes - and you can imagine what happened in there," she jabbed at his arm, like he was supposed to laugh at this kind of creepy story.

He looked up. The dark-haired woman's eyes were sparkling with unbridled mirth. Hirakawa was a nice lady, short and stout, a few years older than him and very, very chatty. He didn't need to be a long time friend or anything for her to open up to him so easily.

"Well, then I complained to old man Yamashiro, guy hasn't come back here since." The woman shifted her eyes quickly around the room before leaning and whispering, "Don't tell anybody, but I think Yamashiro's a retired yakuza boss. Really, really scary yanno?"

"Really?" Tsunayoshi wasn't sure of what to think of that. Then he shrugged. Did it really matter either way? And he wasn't much of a gossip person. Maybe it was because he'd had enough of that for the past ten years. All he wanted was some peace and quiet…

"Yeah, the Momokyokai Clan was really, really big when he was boss. And they say that…" Yeah, Tsunayoshi just wanted some peace and quiet. No creepy customers or cruel bullies. No crazy teachers or family names. Perhaps he should become a hermit.

"And you know that crazy thing with the cars on the freeway? He was totally behind that!" Yeah...if teaching didn't work out he could run out for the hills and be a farmer. Or a hermit. Or both. The countryside sounded good to him. A few strings pulled here and there and he could finally disappear.

"Oh and I heard he has sooo many children. Isn't that suspicious?" Yeah. Not like anyone would miss him or anything. No fuss. It'd be nice. Hell, maybe it would actually work. Then maybe…

"Eh? Sawada?"

Maybe if he just disappeared, everything would be easier…

"Sawada-san?"

There were his pets to deal with though. Maybe he could take them with him? ...Nah, it probably wouldn't work. Why was he thinking about this again?

"Tsunayoshi Sawada!"

The daydreaming brunet squeaked when he saw Hirakawa so close to his face. He nearly fell out of his chair, "H-hieee! D-don't scare me like that!" He put a hand to his chest. This fast already? Must be a new record. Strangely, this situation felt familiar.

The woman puffed up her cheeks, making her seem even younger, like his age, young (His other, less enthusiastic co-workers hinted she was actually hitting thirty-one this year). "You weren't listening to me at all! Hmph, don't you want to hear what I've heard through the great Namimori grapevine?" She huffed again, before making an 'o' with her mouth, "Ohhhh, you're that age." Her smile returned with a vengeance. "Guess you're only interested in _that_ kind of stuff right?"

Why did he suddenly fear for his life? She slid on closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him up so they could both peek out the door. "Creeps aside, I sometimes see some pretty sharp guys running around. Pick your apple from the barrel! There are no wrong choices...at least I don't think so."

Tsunayoshi burned from embarrassment, politely plucking the woman's hand off of his person. "S-sorry Hirakawa-san, but….I don't really have the time for dating right now." Then the young man paused. "And why do you keep choosing guys?" Not like he had a problem with that kind of thing but…

"Oh? You're bi? My bad, my bad!" She promptly grabbed hls arm again. "What about that girl then? She's cute!" She looked five years older than him, was at least three inches over his head (not including the heels) and was waay out of his league.

"Th-That's not what I meant at all!" he wailed turning even pinker. "Just...why did you assume that I-?"

"That you're as straight as a circle? Uh well…" she looked at him critically, before coming upon an epiphany and smacking her fist in her palm. "It's cause you're a twink!*"

"...What?"

The woman looked at him as if he should have known what that meant. "You know Sawada...a twink!" As if saying that louder made him understand it any better.

Tsunayoshi couldn't help it, he facepalmed. Probably for the thirtieth time today. "Nevermind. Just - ugh- Honestly, I appreciate the effort Hirakawa-san, I really do but...I really, really don't have time for those kinds of things. I'll uh, tell you when I'm ready, okay?" The woman pouted again. For a second Tsunayoshi had the unnerving image of a woman with cat ears, completely flattened against her head in sadness. He fought the urge to pat the woman on the head.

He needed help.

The woman hung her head for a bit, before immediately brightening up. "Just as well then! I forgot, you're still a student right? Go work your ass off or something then. No time for boys...er girls..or both! Whatever floats your boat I guess."

"Oi, Sawada-san, Umeko-san?" Mr. Yamashiro poked his head through the door. The man gave them a slow, almost apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to bother you two on break, but can you help me with restocking some of the shelves? One of the young ones accidentally pushed some of our items over again."

"O-of course, right away sir! I'm sorry for being distracted!" The little brunet bowed immediately in apology. Hirakawa, having no shame at being caught lollygagging, just laughed.

"Yeah, yeah you caught us old man, we'll get to it." She slapped the manager heartily on the back, "Go drink some tea and we'll take it from here, yeah Momokyokai-sama!"

The old man gave her a confused look before Tsuna managed to drag the talkative woman away. Somehow, he managed to keep her grounded enough to actually do what Mr. Yamashiro asked them to do. "How did he knock over an entire tower?" Tsuna grumbled, picking up the cans scattered all over the ground. An entire 65 cans? Really?

"It can't be helped, Sawada-san, gotta make do with what we got I suppose - and helllooo, who's this?" Tsuna groaned as the woman dropped a few cans as she stood up, whirling around and nearly tipping the tower over. Luckily for the two of them the young man managed to catch it before the whole thing collapsed.

"Hirakawa-san, can we just get these cans up and-"

The woman sighed, "Sawada, Sawada, don't worry! It'll only take a sec. Besides, Mr. Whale Butt over there is harassing another customer with his presence. You're not going to stop me from doing my job, are you?" Tsunayoshi snapped his mouth shut and groaned internally. Mr. Whale Butt, otherwise known as Yoshida Houjo was a portly man. He and Tsuna got along well enough, but there seemed to be some weird rivalry between him and Hirakawa. Something to do with peaches. Or so he heard.

"Uh...okay then, I guess…" Why couldn't he shake this sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen? He rolled up his sleeves, picking up more cans and ignoring the odd looks he was getting. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he recognized a few of his classmates. He could feel himself turning pink as he heard them snicker. Ignore them...ignore them… He could hear footsteps coming towards him. Oh god, please not at work…

A hand tapped his shoulder. "Tsuna?"

The voice was too soft, too polite to be one of his tormentors. No way… Was this some sort of cosmic karma for him breaking his professor's special glass case? He forced himself to stand up straight and turn around without giving anything away. "Y-Yes?"

Enma shifted uncomfortably. He was dressed in jeans with the brown trenchcoat and matching beret on his head that Tsuna bought for him. It...suited him pretty well actually. But good fashion choices aside, Tsuna couldn't help but wonder why in the name of all that is good and holy that his tabby cat was here. "Y-You...f-forgot y-your cellphone…" He pulled out Tsunayoshi's little flip phone from his pocket. How the other even knew where he was for work seeing as how Tsuna didn't tell him completely went over his head. What really mattered at the moment, was that Hirakawa's eyes were suspiciously sparkly. This..this would not end well.

"U-Um thanks…" He took the phone reluctantly. Oh god, she was totally going to-

The little lady stepped forward, walking around the cat to stick out her hand to the timid redhead. "Nice to meet ya, Sawada's boyfriend!" She looked at him accusingly, "Didn't know he already had a sweetheart, why didn't you tell me you coy little thing you? Don't have time for relationships, my foot!" She sounded oddly triumphant, a gleam in her eyes made him shiver.

"N-No! You've got it all wrong, Enma…" The woman's eyes sharpened. "...-kun, is just a friend." **

The redhead beside him shifted uneasily, pulling the brown beret down tighter over his head, like he was hoping to disappear. A lot like how Tsuna was feeling right now actually. "I'm sorry, am I in the way…?" Tsuna whirled around to see the redhead looking up at him with the sad eyes. If anything, they were a thousand times worse than Byakuran's puppy eyes.

"No! No, you're not in the way! I'm just surprised you're here is all. How did you even get here in the first place?" The tabby cat shuffled his feet sheepishly.

"W-well, t-that's because…"

"Ah Cozart-kun! You're here early?" Tsuna nearly had a heart attack when he saw Mr. Yamashiro directly behind him. Jumping out of the way, he watched in bewilderment as the old manager patted the redhead on the shoulder. "I didn't think you'd be coming, I told you that work starts on Monday for you!"

Work? "Wait...wait, wait, what? Enma...kun," That was going to take some getting used to, "When did you apply for a job?"

The redhead shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with the attention. Mr. Yamashiro answered for him. "Ah, well, Cozart-kun here applied yesterday. And he was such a nice young man that I thought he'd be good for the job." Cozart? Did...Did cats have last names or something that Tsuna didn't know about? When he looked at Enma, he saw the cat tuck the label in his jacket in, hiding the name. Because that was not very suspicious.

Hirakawa, who had been uncharacteristically silent, stepped around the younger male and an arm around the old man. "Eh, you know old man, Enma-kun here is a bit more than Sawada's friend here…"

"H-Hirakawa-san! Don't tell him weird things!" But it was already too late, the old man was looking at them with slightly widened eyes (hell, half the time the man looked like his eyes were closed).

"Oh...I see, i see, how could these old eyes miss such a lovely connection?" Great. Just...great.

Tsunayoshi waved his hands, "No, no, we're just friends! Enma-kun is just dorming with me is all! We're just friends."

Hirakawa snorted out of disbelief. She laid a pointed glance at the silent redhead, "Oi, keep that up and you're gonna insult your boyfriend."

Tsuna stomped his foot, frustrated, "He's not my boyfriend!" His co-worker and boss just shook their heads knowingly as Tsuna continued to groan. It seemed that there were no such things as platonic relationships to the two of them. Or at least for Hirakawa. He wasn't sure if Mr. Yamashiro really believed all of the things that Hirakawa said but...the man was getting a little old…

"Now, now, no need to throw such a fuss, Sawada-san. I'm sure you're very much wanting to spend some time with your precious 'friend' here." The way he said friend was really, really suspicious. He didn't sound condescending or sarcastic, but there was just this knowing air in his voice that made Tsuna want to throw a tantrum and then wail in defeat.

"No, really, Mr. Yamashiro I can-"

The old man stepped forward, patting the brunet on the shoulder, "Don't worry, don't worry. You're shift is almost done anyway and I won't dock your pay. You young ones need some time to sort things out. Relationships are very important things after all."

"B-But…" He looked around, trying to find some sort of support. Enma looked like he was trying to curl up and become one with the aisle of chip bags. Hirakawa was just smiling at him. And everyone around was starting to give the group weird looks. Why did no one believe him about anything.

….

* * *

><p>….<p>

"Feel free to take the day off. I expect to see you both on Monday though!" The old man, with the help of Hirakawa, shoved the two out the door.

Tsuna managed to catch his footing, looking back at the store longingly before sighing in defeat. They had forced him to clean up, putting back on his street clothes before sending him and Enma out on a date against Tsuna's will. But it wasn't like it really was date. He wondered...would he get arrested with bestiality charges if he went out on a date with his pet which turned into a sort of half-human, half-tabby cat hybrid? He glanced at the redhead, who was rubbing his shoulder apprehensively and looking at everyone with utter confusion and worry.

Yeah. Probably.

"I-I'm sorry, Enma-kun about the mixup but…"

"It's fine," the tabby cat said quickly before shrinking in on himself. "I...I'm sorry I got in the way…"

"No! No, you're not in the way! Why do you always have to apologize?" The tabby cat looked ready to apologize again. Tsuna sighed, grabbing the redhead's hand. He noticed with a frown that the other's hands were covered in bandages. "Look, since we're out here, let's go for a walk and head back to the apartment okay?"

Enma looked at him, his eyes wide and darting from his face to their clasped hands. "...Okay."

The entire way was spent in silence. Tsuna felt a bit...odd holding the other's hand. No one around them really paid it much mind but he worried… He didn't want anything bad happening to Enma by hanging out with the infamous No-Good Tsuna. The kitten just seemed so...fragile in comparison to the other animals...er...people (he really needed to get used to that) running around his apartment. Poor thing. His tabby cat had always been really, really shy and timid.

The sky was beginning to bleed orange and the sun was sinking. They were only halfway home too... He hoped the animals hadn't caused too much of a mess while he was gone. He left out little bagged lunches for all of them. Hopefully they didn't start another food fight and then ransack his fridge. And then break it. If Reborn didn't kill him for the table, Bianchi would certainly kill him for the fridge.

_It comes with poison mushrooms, boa constrictors and scorpions. _

Although in hindsight maybe it was better to get rid of it after all… They began passing through the park and would have passed right on by if Enma hadn't stopped. "E-Enma? What's wrong…?" Tsuna looked from the redhead to the park. Did he...want to play on the playground? That's what it looked like, seeing as how his eyes seemed to sparkle. It was kind of...cute actually. He supposed old kitty habits die hard.

On the other side of the spectrum...What darling little Tsunayoshi didn't notice was that there was a lone couple on the other side of the park. They were sitting on one of the benches, paying no attention to anyone else. They were sharing an ice cream together and before long, the ice cream was forgotten in favor of kissing each other. Enma turned completely pink when that happened. He turned to Tsuna and flinched when he saw his owner looking at him with a small smile and knowing eyes. D-Did he see those people? Did he see Enma staring for that matter?

"Enma…" the brunet said softly. They weren't...or were they? The poor tabby cat's heart was beating erratically against his chest, as if it couldn't wait to get out. Red eyes flickered to his owner's lips, smooth and pink. He could feel himself flush even more when Tsunayoshi leaned forward. The redhead's eyes were about to flutter shut until he said, "Do you want to play on the playground?"

His eyes snapped open wide and he looked down surprised at the brunet, who was smiling at him in amusement. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone if you're embarrassed!" The oblivious male mistook the red-face as embarrassment about the playground rather than...uh… yeah that thing.

Enma tried to protest and clear things up but... "N-No I-"

"It's alright! I don't think you've ever gotten to play in the park as a cat right? It'll be fun, I promise," Tsuna reassured.

Enma tried telling Tsuna what he saw, but no words would come out. Hell, he could just feel himself turning redder and redder as he tried to say it. "I-I-...that-!" He pointed in the direction of the couple, "I-I...what's...they're…" He let go of Tsuna's hand, using his both his palms to cover his face and pull his beret down over his face. He was going to make his move. He could do this. He could do this!

"Oh, you mean you want to play on the swings?" Enma paused in his flurried attempt to pull himself together and looked up to where Tsuna was pointing. The couple was gone and all that was left in sight was the playground and the so-called swings.

God damn it.

"U-Uh, y-yeah…?" he said lamely, trying to cover up the fact that he had attempted to make a pass. And failed.

"Well, we have some time before dinner, so go ahead and get on. I'll push you." When Enma hesitated, Tsunayoshi laughed. "Don't be shy, it's okay to act like a kid every now and then." His owner held his hand… Again. For the second time today. Was the cat god above taking pity on him? The brunet put him onto a seat and pushed him gently on the swing. The tabby cat felt like one hell of an idiot and this was anything but what he was imagining. But…

He tilted his head back, looking up at the genuine smile on his owner's face. It was well worth it. "Do you want to go higher, Enma?" Gulping, the tabby cat looked resolutely forward. Looking back, he could see the beautiful person that everyone seemed to ignore. His mind drifted back to those faces...those ugly faces and those dark eyes looking at his owner that way… He needed to say something.

Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi wondered what was wrong. The redhead had gone stiff as a board, his hands slightly trembling as bandaged fists wrapped even tighter around the chains. "U-Um...will you swing with me?" He said it like he was trying to ask Tsuna on a...

Bad comparison.

Haha, not like that would ever happen. Right?

"Eh? Uh, okay, sure." Tsuna slowly sat down in the swing besides the cat, half-heartedly swinging in his seat. Suddenly it went quiet. But unlike the walk here, it was actually pretty comfortable. They sat there for a bit, idly swinging as the blue sky disappeared and was replaced with the classic sunset hues. It had been a while since he'd just stopped to admire such things…

"Tsuna."

The brunet turned his head, looking at the tabby cat besides him. He seemed to blend in with the scene. Orange and red meshing perfectly together. "Yes?"

"C-Can I…" Enma seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. His mind flickered back to the faces and instead of what he wanted to say. "...I-I don't want you working there anymore!" he blurted out.

The brunet balked. "What?" Tsuna looked at the redhead intently, but the other was now looking straight forward, away from him. But… "I need to work there Enma. I just… I have to you know. I can't just quit-"

"Yes, you can," the cat muttered tightly. "I'm working there now so...so, you don't have to anymore."

"Enma, I need the money for the apartment. I can't just-!"

The cat stood up turning around and standing directly in front of Tsuna. "That's just it. One of us working there is enough isn't it?" He had to confront Tsuna now, before he lost. It was hard enough, trying to talk to his owner like this. But his heart steeled itself when his mind flashed back to those hideous faces, those terrible leers as the brunet ran to and fro. Never again. Not while he was here to stop it.

The owner, on the other hand, didn't like this one bit. He wanted to say it, wanted to explain that he needed the salary to keep up expenses for all of them. But if he did then, wouldn't Enma just find even more reason to stay? "It's...I'm supposed to take care of you. I can take care of all of you guys, really! You don't need to go to the trouble…"

"But you're already doing more than you can handle!" In frustration, the cat grabbed the brunet's swing, trapping the smaller male in his seat. "You have school and work and, and...I've always been there just adding to things you have to take 'care' of. For...for the longest time I couldn't do...anything! When you were hurt, when you were sad or tired, I couldn't do anything…"

"That isn't-!"

"Yes it is!" Enma had pulled them so close. Tsuna was practically off the ground, his swing pulled up so he was nearly touching noses with the cat. "I...I want to protect you this time. It's my turn now." He loosened his grip around the swing, looking down at the brunet with sad eyes. "Why...why won't you let me?" Am I just a nuisance to you?

Red eyes. Beautiful red eyes shining with a firm resolve that Tsuna knew he would never be able to break. Tsuna wondered if he was being selfish. "I…" the brunet faltered, his eyes drifting to the ground. Perhaps he was. In the end, he had never been able to do these kinds of things by himself. Just as he was thinking these things, Enma leaned down and tugged him out of his seat. Soon enough, the brunet found himself in a tight embrace. Enma was cold. But at the same time, he was warm. A part of him wondered if he had packed enough clothes for the cat, if he was cold with the autumn chill settling in.

"I'm going to help you okay? So please...don't overwork yourself, don't hurt yourself just to protect us." Enma was only a few moments away from saying those words engraved inside his chest. But all he could do was hug the little brunet tight. He didn't like it, didn't like those sad eyes on this person. "I won't lose…" he whispered to himself more than anything else.

There was a soft sigh. Resigned. Somewhat defeated. Maybe a bit exasperated too. Soon enough though, fragile hands rested on his back. "...Fine. You win," his owner sighed.

Enma pulled back, "R-Really?!" Tired eyes looked back at him. They weren't as bright as he wished for them to be, but it was better - anything was better - than those sad eyes from before.

"Yeah...I guess...I guess I can't really change your mind can I? Guess I'll go talk to Mr. Yamashiro and- Guh, E-Enma?!" The young owner found himself being lifted into the air as he was hugged tightly by the redhead. The cat was definitely a lot stronger than he looked. That or Tsuna was just tiny.

Probably because Tsuna was tiny.

"I promise, I won't let you down! I...I'll do my best!" Enma's face was entirely pink and he seemed breathless. A small, little smile spread across the tabby cat's face, absolutely overjoyed. How he could have ever said no to that face was beyond Tsuna. Before long, he found himself smiling too.

"Just...just don't hurt yourself okay?" Enma put him down, burying his face into the crook of Tsuna's shoulder. The owner flinched, turning pink at the clear intimacy of the gesture, but brushing it aside and resting his hand on the other's neck. Which was freezing cold.

"Jesus, you're freezing, Enma!" he said aloud. The other flinched and pulled away, but Tsuna kept him close. "Are you getting sick?" He leaned forward, tapping his forehead against the cat's. The other's face was abnormally red and he became even more worried. He took off his jacket, forcibly wrapping it around the redhead. "I'll get you a warmer coat tomorrow. Maybe a scarf too…Ah, we should get going! I'll serve soup so you can warm up, okay?"

Enma nodded, growing redder by the second. "O-Okay... b-but I'm not-"

"I think we'll have miso today. That's a little easier and it's kinda been chilly out lately so…" In the end, they walked home, Enma listening to Tsuna talk on and on about dinner selections as they went.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"So...where did you go with Tsunayoshi-kun today, Enma-kun?" The tabby cat looked up and saw the harlequin rabbit walk into the room. The redhead had been hiding in the guest bedroom, trying to avoid the accusing glares from Xanxus and Gokudera.

"We went to the park and...I told Tsunayoshi about my new job." The lilac rabbit hummed, his ears twitching. Gloved hands lightly brushed the surface of the bedpost and then the tall man sat down, elegant as ever.

"Anything else happen?" He sounded disinterested, but Enma knew better. They all knew better.

Strangely enough, it was Mukuro that he got along with most and well...trusted most. Although that wasn't much now that he thought about it. "Well...Tsuna was upset for a while and then I...I really hope he got the right idea. He worries me a lot sometimes." His mind flashed back to the day before it happened. Tsuna crying, running out of the room and locking them out. It was one of the worst nights he had to endure.

The lilac rabbit hummed. "I see…" How ironic. "It seems that Tsunayoshi-kun is as oblivious as ever. Wonderful warning, Enma-kun." The redhead turned away from those odd colored eyes, curling his hands into fists.

"I'm not going to lose…" Mukuro turned his head to smile in amusement at him. Enma, despite knowing the truth, continued to glare at the other. "I won't lose to you guys."

"Is that a challenge little kitten?" Enma didn't respond and the harlequin rabbit smirked. "I accept." And then he stood up, his entire figure radiating a confidence Enma could only hope to have. "I wish you the best of luck then, Enma-kun." The last word rolled off of his tongue like an insult and he swept out of the room.

As much as the tabby cat hated to admit it, that rabbit had some style...or at least a flair for the dramatic. His mind drifted back to Tsuna. He couldn't think of much else. The brunet was always on his mind. His eyes. His smile…

His tears.

Enma looked down onto Tsuna's jacket lying in his lap. He hadn't returned it yet. Holding onto it, his fingers traced the patterns. He could feel the warmth beginning to disappear the longer he was in contact with it. "I promise…" His eyes lit up with resolve. "I promise I won't let you cry anymore."

Even though his hands were frozen and that chill would never leave his chest. As long as Tsuna was here, as long as he could feel that warmth, everything was going to be alright.

...

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><p>...<p>

**A/N: **

***Apparently in gay slang, a twink is like a cute, young guy. I think. GO ASK TYLER OAKLEY. He made a video about gay slang and that's where I got it from. **

****The additional '...-kun' is because apparently, when you call someone by their name without any honorific it's supposed to mean you're really intimate. Or just really close. But obviously Hirakawa sees the former rather than the latter. **

**Surprise angst. I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. Buuuuut it did. And suddenly Enma is difficult to write too. WHY. WHY ENMA WHY. On other sides. Go Team Enma. Or something something. I hope this chapter wasn't too...I don't know, cringeworthy? Ick? Cheesy? Weird or OOC? MEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Well, thanks for those review you guys. Y'all are far too kind to me. I AM NOT WORTHY OF SUCH PRAISE. I DO READ YOU GUYS' REVIEWS I DO AND I LOVE YOU GUYS. I'll try harder senpais, I swear. **


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